Blank Slate
by Headbanger Rockstar
Summary: Episode Spoilers: Hiatus, Till Death Do Us Part, & Extreme Prejudice. AU Gibbs/Tony slash. Tony gets caught up in the explosion at NCIS. He wakes up with no recollection of the last decade. Can Gibbs and Tony's relationship survive? AU OOC SLASH. WIP. Warning: Angst.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's**_** Note:** Am I crazy? Starting another story? Probably! Oh well, here we go!  
_**Disclaimer:** NCIS and all of its recognizable nouns are property of CBS & Bellisario Productions. I only own the idea._

_Special thanks to my wonderful friend and beta, Gotgoats. You are absolutely priceless to me. Rock on!_

_**Warning: Angst!  
**__**SPOILER ALERT**__**: **__Episode 9.24 Till Death Do Us Part and Episode 10.1 Extreme Prejudice__**  
**_

**Blank Slate  
****Chapter 1  
**By Headbanger_Rockstar**  
**

Things were rumbling at NCIS. Several calls had come in over the past few days, each of them reporting bomb threats that were false. Everyone's anxiety ramped up a notch when the Director disappeared. Gibbs and his team searched frantically for him, and everyone was shocked and amazed when all of a sudden the Director showed back up at NCIS. He was a little ruffled around the edges, but not really worse for wear. Everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief then, convinced that the storm had blown over—that the threat was passed.

And then…then the last call came in.

Abby's fingers flew furiously over the keyboard, the audio recording of the phone call echoing eerily throughout her lab. Tony stood at her shoulder, his eyes scanning the screen of the voice recording's vibrations. Tony was furiously taking notes, when all of a sudden he stopped.

Realization dawned on his face that was quickly overwrought by panic. "Oh shit," he breathed.

"Ohmygod," Abby's voice breathed at the same moment.

The two stopped and stared at each other for a long moment before they each grabbed a phone and started dialing. It was understood that Tony would phone Gibbs and Abby was dialing Director Vance's direct line.

Tony got through first. "Boss—it's—oh my God Gibbs the threat we received is real. We've traced the location of the caller…"

"_And? Where is he DiNozzo?!"_

"We have to evacuate the building," Tony said softly, his voice filled with more fear than Gibbs or Abby had ever heard. "We have to get everyone out."

"_DINOZZO. WHERE IS THE CALLER?"_

"Director Vance it's Abby you've got to evacuate the building! There's a bomb in the parking garage!" Abby screeched into the phone.

"_Did she just say the bomb is in the parking garage?"_ Gibbs asked.

"Yes," Tony whispered. "Get everybody out. We're going to collect the evidence we have and—"

"_GET OUT OF THE BUILDING!"_ Tony heard Gibbs yell to whoever was standing around him. _"You too Tony," _Gibbs' voice gentled slightly. _"You and Abby need to get out too. You're closer to the parking garage than I am. I'm in the bullpen. I'll meet you out front near the flagpole."_

"On it Boss," Tony said softly.

"_And Tony—"_

"I know Jethro," Tony said softly. "Me too." He snapped the phone shut and turned to Abby who was getting off the phone too. "We have to get the evidence and get out of here."

The two quickly went to work gathering the tape and the laptop Abby copied everything onto and the stack of files they'd been using as research references. The sound of the evacuation alarm pierced loudly through the lab and the halls as Tony and Abby scooped up the evidence and raced for the exit. They realized just outside the door to the parking garage that using the exit closest to Abby's lab was quite possibly the worst idea they could have.

"Shit! Go back!" Tony exclaimed. He and Abby quickly changed direction and headed back for the stairs. They had to go out the front door of NCIS. It was the next closest door—only a floor above them…not far…

Tony and Abby hurried into the traffic jam of agents trying to get out of the building—trying to get to safety before the building exploded. And the building would explode. That much was obvious to the forensic specialist and the special agent. As the two hurried into the crowd of frantic agents, Tony and Abby got separated. Tony glanced over his shoulder, just as he reached the door. The fresh air filled his lungs, but the ground rumbled ominously beneath his feet.

He glanced back again, just in time to see Abby stumble.

"ABBY!" Tony exclaimed. He turned around, without considering the danger he was putting himself in, and charged back through the crowd to help his favorite goth.

Abby was struggling to her feet, papers scattered around her and the case of the laptop cracked where it hit the ground when she fell.

Just as Tony reached the door to NCIS, his eyes widened for a split second as the whole world exploded around him. The ground shook and fiery hot air that smelled of fuel, ozone and death slapped him hard and the force of the blast sent Tony flying backwards.

His body ricocheted with the force of the explosion and his body was alight with pain from his head to his toes. Everything hurt. Tony saw the sky high over his head, debris flying everywhere around him. He wondered fleetingly if he was dead—and then his body hit the ground, bounced once, and everything went black.

xxx

Gibbs cursed as another bit of flaming debris fell on him. He quickly flicked the embers off of him and looked at the pile of bricks, glass, and steel that used to be the NCIS Headquarters building. He was standing near the flagpole, where he'd told the whole team to meet him. He was glad that Palmer and Ducky weren't in the building—coming up from the sub-basement would have been nearly impossible. They didn't have nearly enough warning that the building was actually going to blow up. He knew that Tony and Abby did the best they could, but…another couple of minutes would have been extremely helpful.

He felt a vague pain in his bum knee, but there wasn't any time to worry about that now. Gibbs had to stay alert and keep an eye out for his agents. His family. He looked around again, sniper eyes scanning the crowd. Where the hell was everyone?

After an explosion there's a general air of chaos as people stumble around in shock, trying to make sense of the situation. Gibbs knotted his hand into a fist and clutched at his cell phone with the other hand. He wanted to start making calls, but he knew it would be useless. There would be no cell signal. The signal jammers would be hard at work blocking any potential threat. He thought maybe it would just take a few minutes for Tony and Abby to make it out—they were coming all the way from the basement. And Ziva and Tim were near the Interrogation rooms when the alarm sounded. Gibbs wasn't sure how they'd moved through the building to get out, but he thought perhaps they were on the other side of the building—there were doors on that side that would have been closer exits.

He wanted to move—his gut was churning like wild—his protective nature was becoming almost a primal instinct. But the part of him that wanted to move was outweighed by the part of him that knew he should stick to the plan. Abby would freak out if she got to the flagpole and Gibbs wasn't where he said he'd be. Tony would be worried too. He glanced around again. The dust was beginning to clear and he squinted through the mess surrounding him.

Oh God…everywhere he looked…there was so much…damage.

He covered his brow with a hand to block out the afternoon sun and looked for his missing team. A growing sense of dread filled him. He pursed his lips and swallowed hard. His entire body was so tense—tight as a rubber band. He just needed to relax. He needed to breathe and he needed to think through the situation. He could handle this. He'd been in…explosions…before…

"GIIIIIIIIIIIIBBBBBBBBBBBBBSSSSS!" Gibbs turned his head toward the mourning shriek of his name.

Abby.

Gibbs looked around frantically, trying to place where the scream came from. He had to find her. She was with—with Tony. He had to find them.

"ABBY!" he called. "ABS WHERE ARE YOU!"

"GIIIBBSSS! WE'RE HERE!"

There she was. He could see her waving an arm at him. She was on the ground though—it looked like she was sitting…

Gibbs began pushing his way through the crowd of people. He shoved people out of his way, not letting anyone keep him from his family. As he drew nearer his breath caught in his throat. Abby was on the ground. Her hair, which had been in pigtails earlier, was in complete disarray, and it looked like one of the sleeves of her shirt had been nearly ripped off. She had a cut on her cheek and there was some blood on her bottom lip. Gibbs wondered if she'd just busted her lip or if she'd punctured a lung…he didn't know for sure, but he figured that she wouldn't have been able to yell like she did if she'd had hurt her lungs.

He stumbled over something and glanced back, his stomach flipping in horror when he recognized the person—Lorraine from Tech Support—but he kept running. He had to get to Abby. Gibbs looked back at Abby and drew up short, a shout of pain bursting from his lips.

"NO!" He shouted.

Tony was on the ground, sprawled listlessly, with his head in Abby's lap. Gibbs raced forward, sliding to a stop on his knees and ignoring the pain there, his attention focused solely on his injured partner.

"Tony?" Gibbs' voice was soft as he reached out with a shaking hand to touch the top of Tony's head.

Tony's eyes were closed, and Gibbs noticed that his lover's skin was peppered with burns, a deep laceration dug a trench through Tony's eyebrow and across his cheekbone. His left eye was nearly swollen shut. He was perfectly still.

Gibbs's hand trembled more as he carefully checked his partner for a pulse. "Is he…is he?"

It was his worst nightmare coming true—again.

"He's alive," Abby said. "But—But Gibbs! It's my fault! It's my fault he got hurt! Oh God Gibbs!"

Gibbs ran a hand over Abby's shoulder. He had to keep her calm. "It's not your fault Abby," Gibbs said softly. "It's going to be fine."

A medic rushed up. "Is he still alive?" he asked, somewhat impersonally.

Gibbs looked at the medic like he'd grown another head. "Yes he's alive! He's unconscious—Abby how long has he been unconscious?"

"Um…well I don't really know…I mean it was about 2:45 when we got the code cracked and–"

"Abby! Focus!"

"He was knocked unconscious in the explosion," Abby said. "Is he gonna wake up? Is Tony going to be ok?"

"We're going to get him taken care of," the medic said. He pulled out his radio. "I need a bed, a bus, and a backboard at the front entrance STAT," he barked.

The medic opened his bag and pulled out several packs of gauze. "He's got a pretty serious cut on the back of his head," he observed. "I'm going to get that wrapped up and start a line on him."

"A line?" Gibbs asked blankly. He selfishly wished for Ducky. The old ME always made things so much easier to understand.

"An IV," the medic told him.

"What are you going to put in it?" Abby asked.

"Well saline for now, but this way we'll have him all hooked up and ready if we need to give him something else."

"Can I ride with him?" Gibbs asked. His fingers blindly reached out and found Tony's cool fingers, but his eyes never left Tony's face. God the man was still. He was never still. He wasn't even still when he slept—seriously he was the squirmiest sleeper that Gibbs had ever seen or shared a bed with. But this…this wasn't Tony. It couldn't be. It wasn't natural.

This was one seriously fucked up day.

Another ambulance arrived and a team of paramedics rushed over to them. Gibbs and Abby were gently pushed back and they each watched silently and helplessly as a collar immobilized Tony's head. They carefully rolled him onto a backboard and strapped him to it so he wouldn't fall.

"On three," the lead EMT said. "One…two…three," the team lifted Tony's backboard and carefully sat him on the gurney. They pulled the straps over his shoulders, stomach, legs and ankles.

"Can I go with him?" Gibbs choked out.

"No," came a voice from behind them. Gibbs whipped around, anger washing over him. Director Leon Vance stood before him, toothpick in his mouth, looking decidedly ruffled. "I need you here."

"Leon!" Gibbs said. He wasn't normally the type to complain—was usually more blatantly outright insubordinate. "He's my partner—I need to be with him!" Gibbs said.

"You are the lead agent on my Major Crime Response Team," Leon said, chewing on his toothpick. "I need you here. We'll set up guards for Agent DiNozzo to keep him safe in your absence. I'm sure you understand," Vance said, his expression daring Gibbs to refuse.

Gibbs ran a hand over his face. He knew Vance was right—this investigation needed to be completed by him and his team, but…dammit! Tony needed him! He wasn't showing any signs of consciousness. Was he hurting? Was he frightened? Was he charging full tilt toward that big white light in the sky? Who would talk to him? Keep him calm? Help him relax and rest? Who knew how to deal with him on painkillers?

With a sigh, Gibbs turned to Abby. "Will you go with him?" he asked.

"No can do," Leon cut in again. "I'm sorry Jethro. But I need Abby here as well."

"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD LEON! Tony—Tony needs someone with him! And I'm his medical proxy! I need to be there!"

"We need to go," the medics said quietly. "He needs to be seen as quickly as possible."

"Can I just…give me one second?" Gibbs asked. The medics nodded and backed away from Tony's gurney. Gibbs stepped up close to the gurney, and combed his fingers lightly through Tony's hair. "Oh Tony," he whispered. "You've gotta hang on babe," he murmured. "I am going to get Dearing. I'm going to kill that sonofabitch with my bare hands for hurting you. And when I'm done I'll be there. I'm coming to you Sweetheart, but you've gotta hold on ok? You keep fighting. You do not die, hear me?" He pressed a firm kiss to Tony's pale, bloody forehead. He closed his eyes, his lips pressed against his partner's skin, not giving two shits what anyone standing around them thought. "I love you," he whispered in Tony's ear. "I love you so much. And I'll see you soon. You keep fighting." He tapped Tony very lightly on top of the head and stood back. "Ok," he said with a tight nod. He looked at Vance, his eyes glaring daggers at his boss. "Let's get this show on the road."

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note**: Taking some creative license with the episode here…just go with me on the ride!

_Thanks as always to my wonderful beta, Gotgoats. Your help is so wonderful. You're awesome!_

_**Warning: Some language. Lots of angst. Beware the cliffhanger. This is **__**NOT**__** a character death story!**_

**Blank Slate  
****Chapter 2****  
**

_Before the Explosion…_

"Tim do you have any idea where Cole might be?" Ziva and Tim were moving slowly through the halls near the Interrogation rooms. They'd had Cole in custody—he needed questioning!—he was the only person they had encountered who had any information about this man, Harper Dearing, who allegedly wanted to get revenge against Director Vance and NCIS.

Jonathan Cole, a member of the Phantom 8 Special Ops Unit, was not a suspect in any crime. He was pretty much a dirtbag, as far as anyone's opinions went, but there was no specific crime that they could pin on him. Not yet anyway. However, since he was not a suspect—since they had only brought him in for questioning—Ziva and Tim neglected to handcuff him. He was a respected member of the Special Forces. There was no need to treat him as a criminal at this time.

This, as it turned out, may have been an error of judgment on Ziva and Tim's behalf however, because as they'd made their way to the interrogation rooms, Jonathan Cole had somehow managed to give them the slip. And now? Now they couldn't find him. They felt certain he was still in NCIS. They were pretty sure someone would have noticed a man with a black eye such as Cole's (courtesy of Tony) trying to leave the building. Some people might have thought this to be comforting news to the agents who had lost their person of interest—however, it was no secret that Jonathan Cole was a very deadly man. He could—and would—kill anybody who got in his way. Hell, he'd already tried to kill Tony twice! Tony had lost his sense of humor concerning Cole several months earlier. Gibbs knew it, so he'd decided to put Ziva and Tim on the job of bringing him in and getting information out of him.

Tim raised his gun and slowly eased around the corner. He silently wondered—and would deny it if asked—if Tony would have been a better choice for this task.

"Clear," Ziva whispered.

"Clear," Tim called quietly.

The two eased down the hallway, going back the way they'd come, and carefully opened each door to the interrogation rooms and cleared each one. They both knew it would only be a matter of moments before Gibbs started blowing their phones up, wanting updates and sit-reps on their progress. However, it was becoming increasingly clear that Jonathan Cole had given them the slip.

They'd nearly made their way back to the elevators when suddenly an alarm sounded. Ziva lowered her gun and looked at Tim who'd also lowered his. Their eyes widened in panic—this was no fire alarm! This was the bomb threat evacuation warning!

"We have to go," Ziva called over the screaming alarm.

"What about Cole!" Tim yelled back.

"Forget him we have to get out of here!"

"But—"

The building shuddered then, and with wide eyes Tim and Ziva raced for the elevator. The stairs were all the way at the other end of the hall. The two agents fairly dove inside and hit the button for the first floor. They made it down—almost reaching their destination when suddenly the whole building shook as if…as if a bomb exploded. Ziva fell hard into Tim and Tim worked hard to keep both of them from cracking their heads on the wall. The lights went out then and the two agents sat up slowly, seemingly unharmed by whatever had just happened.

"Did a bomb just explode?" Tim asked softly.

Ziva took a deep breath and looked around. "Yes," she said simply. She'd been around enough explosions to identify the shock of one when she felt it. "I think we were lucky to be in the elevator."

"I wonder how much of the building is left around us, though," Tim said quietly. A thought struck him then. "I wonder if the elevator will fall?"

"I wonder how far off the ground we are if we do fall," Ziva said. "I wonder if we would survive the crash?"

Tim loosened his tie. "It's awfully hot," he whined. "Why does this sort of thing always happen in the summer time?"

Ziva rolled her eyes and laughed. "It is not that hot," she commented.

"You grew up in the desert," Tim said. "Of course you don't think it's hot."

Ziva laughed and shifted so she was sitting with her back against the wall. Tim shifted so he was sitting on the opposite wall and he pulled on his tie a little more and undid the top two buttons of his shirt.

"Do not be such a whine-baby," Ziva told him, still smirking.

"Cry baby," Tim said with a wry smile. "I'm a crybaby, not a whine-baby."

"You said it, not me," Ziva returned sweetly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Tim said. Suddenly a thought struck him. "What are we gonna tell Gibbs?"

"About what?" Ziva asked.

"About why we don't have Jonathan Cole in the elevator with us?" Tim replied.

"We will tell him the truth. He got away and we were searching for him."

"Yes, but why did he get away in the first place?" Tim reasoned.

"Better question," Ziva said quietly. "Is Gibbs still alive to ask us about it?"

Tim paled slightly. "What? Of…of course he is. I mean…he's _Gibbs._ The man is invincible. Do you know how many times he's been blown up? Nothing hurts Gibbs. He's invincible and made of steel."

Ziva drew her knees up to her chest. She'd seen many people in her life—Ari and Michael Rivkin to name a couple—whom she thought was invincible and made of steel—whom she thought to be untouchable. "That does not always keep you alive Tim," she said quietly.

"Yeah," Tim said, thunking his head back against the wall. "You're right."

xxx

Abby and Gibbs stood together, shoulder to shoulder, and watched as the ambulance carrying Tony drove away from the carnage that used to be NCIS. Once they were out of sight, Gibbs turned to Vance. "Let's get one thing straight," he said. "You're requiring me to be here, and to do this investigation. It would make me very happy if you stay the hell out of my way while I do it."

Vance raised one eyebrow, still chewing on his toothpick (where did he manage to find a _toothpick _in the middle of all of this chaos?), and he nodded once. "Keep it inside the lines Gibbs," he told him.

Gibbs narrowed his eyes. "My investigation? My rules. I'll do this the best and quickest way I see fit. And you can expect me to be on leave as soon as we get this sonofabitch. And if the hospital calls and needs me to come down there–"

"If it becomes a matter of life or death Gibbs, then you can certainly take a guard and go to the hospital to help DiNozzo. However—and Tony would understand this—I really need you here. I'm sorry. I know you want to go be with your partner. I'm not doing this to be an asshole, despite what you might think."

"You've never given a damn about what I think before now," Gibbs said sweetly. "I don't think you're gonna start now." He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Abs? I need you to stay near the flagpole. That's the rendezvous point the team has set up. Ziva and Tim are still unaccounted for. Keep an eye out for them. I'm going to head for…what used to be the parking garage. I need to see if there's any evidence to be collected."

"First thing you need to do is help us arrange for trailers to be set up to use as a bullpen until we can get the building repaired," Vance said.

Gibbs turned. "No. That's your job. My job is to find out who the hell did this. Your job is to stay the hell out of my way." He turned around and walked away without waiting for anyone else to respond.

He had one goal in mind. Kill and-or capture Dearing and get back to Tony.

Gibbs began climbing slowly over the pile of wreckage, heading for the source of the explosion. Abby twisted her fingers together nervously and looked around. She kept an eye on Gibbs' progress while she looked around for Tim and Ziva. A half hour passed, and a thought suddenly struck Abby. She flagged down a fireman who was walking past her. "Hey—excuse me? Mr. Firefighter? Sir? I'm looking for two missing agents and—"

"Yeah you and about two hundred other people," the fireman said walking away, shaking his head.

"But I think I know where they are!" she ran after him, desperate for someone to help her. The fireman stopped and turned around, looking at her with an exasperated expression on his face. "They might be in the elevator! Over near the interrogation rooms—this way!" she took off in the direction of the elevators that were closest to where she thought Tim and Ziva might be.

xxx

Tim and Ziva had lapsed into comfortable silence. They were each refusing to voice the idea that their friends may not have survived the explosion, instead choosing to pass the time quietly, each one lost in their own thoughts.

Ziva checked her watch and sighed heavily. "I wonder how long it will be before someone gets us out of here," she said softly in the dimly lit elevator.

Before Tim could answer, the elevator car creaked. The two agents looked at each other in alarm. They didn't know if that meant the building was going to finish collapsing, if it meant the elevator car was about to fall to the sub-basement, or if—suddenly the doors parted slightly.

"You two ok?" A fireman asked.

"Yes!" Tim leapt to his feet. "We're great! Not a scratch on either of us! We are so glad to get out of here!"

Abby shoved the fireman aside and looked at her two friends. "Timmy! Ziva! You're ok!" she pulled each of them into tight hugs and dragged them out of the elevator car.

"Yes Abby," Ziva choked out around the suffocating embrace. "We are unharmed." Abby let go of Ziva and Ziva looked around. "Should we still go to the flag pole? Is that where Gibbs wanted to meet us?"

"Gibbs is investigating the explosion," Abby said. "He isn't at the flag pole."

"Well surely we will need to go wait for Tony. He's undoubtedly found some piece of ass to flirt with on his way out of the building—I'm not sure we'll be seeing him any time soon," Tim snarked.

The image of Tony lying sprawled in her lap, his head bleeding, and only in that condition because he was coming back for Abby…and then hearing Tim say what he did…it made Abby see red. She gasped at Tim's words, a trembling, blood covered hand raising to cover her mouth. She shook her head in barely masked horror, even as her face flushed with anger.

Tim saw the blood on Abby's hand and his eyes widened. "Abby…you've got blood on you…Abby are you ok? Are you hurt?"

Abby looked at her hand covered in Tony's blood from where she'd moved his head into her lap and tried to keep pressure on the cut in her friend's skull…she closed her eyes and thought back to Gibbs, so scared, so thoughtful of her feelings, reassuring her that what happened to Tony wasn't her fault—even when it quite obviously WAS her fault…and this…this was just disgusting in light of everything that had taken place.

Tim reached for her hand and Abby jerked away as though he would burn her. "Don't touch me," she said darkly, her voice dangerously quiet.

"Abby? What's wrong—I was just making sure you were ok?" He reached for her again.

Abby jerked away again and took a step backwards. "I said don't. touch. me," she snapped. "You're a horrible human being Timothy McGee. I hate you I wish I'd never even met you!"

She turned around and ran away before anyone could say anything else.

xxx

Gibbs sealed the last evidence bag and stood up straight. He let out a long breath and looked around. He checked his watch and saw that it was nearly 7pm. It'd been about four hours since the bomb had detonated. Gibbs felt momentarily guilty because in that time he'd not called the hospital once to check on Tony. He'd gotten lost in the methodical process of collecting evidence and working the—very large—crime scene. He raised his eyes to the sky and felt his chest tighten with emotion. Pulling out his cell phone he called Information and got the number for Bethesda Naval Medical Center. He knew that's where Tony would be.

"_Bethesda Naval Medical Center, may I help you?"_

Gibbs took a deep breath, trying to ease the ache there. He felt horrible for taking so long to check on his partner. He felt guilty that he was even at NCIS still and not by Tony's side, but…but he didn't seem to have a choice, unless he quit his job… "Yes," he croaked. "I'm calling about the status of one of your patients," he said.

"_What's the patient's name?"_

"Anthony DiNozzo. He's an agent with NCIS. He was injured in the explosion at NCIS today," Gibbs said quietly.

There was a pause. His stomach clenched and his breath caught in his chest at the next words the operator spoke. _"I'm sorry sir. We don't have any patients here by that name."_

Gibbs felt like all of the life had been sucked out of him. "What do you mean you don't have him there! You have to have him there! That's where he was supposed to be taken! WHERE IS HE!"

There was another pause. _"I'm very sorry sir. I can tell you that our Emergency Department was overrun by casualties this afternoon after the explosion. We had to turn some of the incoming patients away. You may want to check with the other hospitals in the area. I'm sorry sir."_

"Thanks for your time," Gibbs said softly. "But it'd be nice if you'd let people know you were turning away patients."

"_Understood sir," _the operator said.

Gibbs snapped the phone shut without another word. He stared at the phone for a long moment, debating whether he should start searching frantically to find Tony. He didn't know which hospital his partner was in—and there were several to choose from—he had no way to know if Tony was even alive or not. Knowing that with the huge influx of patients, and with the number of hospitals in the area to contact…Gibbs figured that finding Tony could take a while.

He looked at his feet where the box of evidence sat. Gibbs needed to get that delivered to Abby. He needed to figure out where the hell the lab was, and he needed to get her to help him. He was willing to bet that his favorite forensic specialist could help him figure out which hospital Tony was in, too. Swallowing thickly, he tucked his cell phone back in his pocket, took a deep breath and picked up his box of evidence.

It occurred to him, too, as he headed for the cluster of guards standing around, that he also needed to figure out what had happened to McGee and Ziva. He'd not heard from them, but he knew that didn't necessarily mean anything was wrong. Still, as team leader, he felt it was his responsibility to make sure all of his people were…safe…he gulped again. Safe and accounted for.

Gibbs spoke to the guards and they directed him towards the make-shift trailer that was the working forensic lab. He carried the box towards the trailer and bit back a curse when Vance suddenly stepped in front of him, blocking his way.

"Agent Gibbs," Vance said.

"Director," Gibbs replied evenly. "What can I do for you?"

"Sit rep," Vance said.

Anger washed over Gibbs. Seriously? Seriously. "You want a sit rep," Gibbs said flatly.

"That's what I said," Vance said. He unwrapped a toothpick and shoved it into his back teeth. "Sit. Rep."

"Sit rep," Gibbs muttered. "Here's my sit rep. I'm tired. I'm hot. I'm hungry. I feel like I am going to throw up. I can't find my agents. Our medical examiner is not here—he's five states away. Our agents and forensic specialists are working out of friggin trailers. And I can't find my partner. DiNozzo isn't at Bethesda."

Vance's eyes widened a bit. "Where uh…where's DiNozzo?" he asked.

Gibbs dropped the box of evidence. "I WOULDN'T KNOW!" he roared. "I wouldn't know because my _fucking_ _boss_ made me stay at _fucking_ _work_ while my partner could be lying _dead_ in a _fucking morgue_ somewhere. But I wouldn't _know_ that would I? If he's not at Bethesda then the hospital he IS at does not even know to CONTACT me because we don't have our medical proxies on record anywhere else. We _always_ go to Bethesda. So you tell me Dir_ect_or. Where IS DiNozzo!"

Vance kept his gaze level. He did not break eye contact and he did not say a word. He knew that Gibbs was under a lot of pressure. He knew that a lot of the pressure Gibbs was under was because of him. The husband in him understood that Gibbs wanted to be with his partner. He got it. But the agent in him knew that he needed Gibbs here. He took a deep breath.

"Abby is in the lab," Vance said. "Get the evidence logged and then…" he pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Then you can take the time to figure out which hospital DiNozzo is in and get your paperwork filed with them so they know to contact you."

Gibbs blinked. He knew an olive branch when he saw it. "Alright," he said. He picked up the evidence box and stepped around him.

Vance pulled out his cell phone and dialed a familiar number. "Hey Jackie," he said, a smile tugging across his face. He turned and walked in the opposite direction that Gibbs went in.

xxx

"Abs?" Gibbs called out. He grunted as the door swung back suddenly, smacking his ankle and glared at the offending door.

"I'm in here Gibbs," Abby called back. He wandered down the hall of the large trailer, looking for Abby. He found her standing in the middle of the make-shift lab, leaning on the table with her head in her hands.

"Hey Abs," he said conversationally, setting the box on the table. "I brought presents."

Abby smiled faintly. "That's what Tony always said," she said softly, before gasping when she caught what she said. "Oh God. Oh Gibbs…Gibbs I didn't mean that. It's what Tony always SAYS. IT'S WHAT HE SAYS!" she yelled at the ceiling, hoping the gods above her would hear and not punish Tony for her transgression.

She paced intently around the lab several times, muttering angrily to herself, until Gibbs stopped her. "Hey," he said gently, putting his hands on her shoulders. "You ok?"

"Am I ok? Am I ok. No. No Gibbs I am NOT ok. Not one little bit ok. Nope not ok at all."

Gibbs guided her to a stool. "Talk to me," he said.

"How can you be so supportive of me? Your—your partner—your lover—your—your TONY is—and it's my—and then Tim and Ziva—"

"Hey," Gibbs said gently. "We've been over this. Not your fault Abs. Not your fault. Tell me about Tim and Ziva. Are they ok?"

Abby stared at him as though he'd grown another head. "Have they not gotten in touch with you yet?" she asked softly, horrified.

"Nope," Gibbs shook his head. "Have you seen them? Are they ok?"

Fire suddenly burned in Abby's gaze and she pulled back from Gibbs. "Oh they are alive. And well. And on the TOP of my shit list!"

Gibbs blinked. "What happened?"

"GIBBS! DO YOU KNOW WHAT KIND OF PEOLE YOU HAVE WORKING FOR YOU?!"

Gibbs narrowed his eyes slightly. "I have responsible, capable, dependable age—"

"No Gibbs," Abby said, so angry her voice was shaking. "They are evil, awful, horrible excuses for human beings—they—they said—" Abby heaved and a sob escaped her, tears beginning to stream down her face.

Gibbs moved forward and embraced her. "What happened?" he asked gently. "I can't fix it if you don't tell me what it is."

Abby pulled back. "They—TIM of all people!—Tim said—Gibbs he said that Tony—" another heaving sob escaped her, "he said that Tony wouldn't—that he wouldn't follow protocol—" she stopped, her chest heaving, trying to steady herself. "Tim said that Tony wouldn't follow protocol about where we were supposed to meet…"

"Why would he say that?" Gibbs asked gently, trying to understand the situation.

"He said it because he thinks Tony would—and I _quote_—'find some piece of ass to flirt with on his way out of the building.'" Abby bit her lip and looked away as tears filled her eyes. "Tony got hurt trying to save me. He caught the explosion head on—in the face—because I stumbled and I yelled out and he turned around to save me. It's my fault," Abby whimpered. "And if Tony dies it'll be my fault, and you'll be alone and it'll be my fault, and Tim is just—just SUCH—SUCH an—an ASSHOLE!"

Gibbs blinked. "He said what?" his voice was dangerously quiet.

"He said—"

"I heard what you said!" Gibbs snapped. He rubbed his forehead wearily. "Look," he said, "I don't have time to worry about Tim and his issues with Tony. I called Bethesda. Tony's not there."

"WHAT?!" Abby screeched.

"They were 'too overrun' with incoming emergency patients, so they started sending the ambulances to other hospitals," Gibbs said, shoving one hand in his pocket and the other hand rubbing against a his forehead. This day was giving him a headache.

"Well where is he?" Abby asked.

"I don't know," Gibbs said darkly.

"And you're still here?" Abby asked, her eyes rounding in wonder.

Gibbs snorted. "Yeah," he muttered. "Good thing Tony got himself a good partner. You know, someone who would be there with him, who wouldn't ever leave his side or let something like work come before him," he said sadly. "Some partner I am. Don't even have my partner's six when he really needs it."

Abby's heart broke a little for her friend. "Awww Gibbs," she said. "Gibbs nooo…it's not your fault either. You…you're stuck between a rock and a hard place! I know you! You want to catch the bad guy—you want to kill the rat who hurt your Tony. But you also feel responsible for keeping Tony safe and for being there for him. And this time—this time you can't do both at the same time! And it's not helping that your boss is making you stay here and work," she said with a grimace.

"You're right," Gibbs said. "But Vance told me that after we get the evidence logged that we can get to work finding out where Tony was taken. Once we find him, I can take my Medical Proxy form over there and get myself on the contact list for him."

"Ohmygod," Abby breathed, a hand covering her mouth. "Oh Gibbs!"

"What?"

"What if—what if Tony dies? No one will know where he is? No one will know who to call! Gibbs he could—he could already be dead! What do we do if Tony's dead Gibbs!"

Gibbs pulled her into a tight hug. "He's not dead Abs. He can't be dead. I would know if he is dead. And he is not dead." He took a deep breath.

He hoped he was right.

TBC…


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks to my wonderful beta, whom I have been working overtime lately, Gotgoats. Your help is so awesome!  
__**Authors Note:**_ Remember! This is NOT a character death story!_  
_

**Blank Slate  
****Chapter 3****  
**

_Siesta Key, Florida_

Dr. Donald Mallard, Ducky to his friends and family, sat at the table watching the festivities surrounding him. It was a lovely evening in late spring. The weather was just perfect, the sky was clear, the sun was just beginning to dip into the Gulf of Mexico. He was very proud of his young assistant. The wedding of Jimmy Palmer and his lovely bride Breena was an affair that would not soon be forgotten by any of the happy party goers. He frowned when he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket.

Who would be calling him now? Everyone knew he was here at the wedding. No one would call unless…

Ducky looked at his caller id and felt his gut tighten. Why was Director Vane calling him? He politely excused himself from his table companions and he slipped out of the tent. It was a short walk down to the beach and Ducky quickly called the Director back.

"_Director Vance," _the younger man answered his phone.

"Hello Director," Ducky said. "What can I do for you?"

"_Dr. Mallard…I just thought I'd let you know…there was a bomb threat at NCIS today. Only…it wasn't just a threat."_

Ducky blinked. "Was there an explosion?"

"_Yes," _Ducky could tell by the short answer that there was more to the story.

"Are you going to tell me about it or are you just calling for a social call?"

"_The building is in ruins. There are agents who…not everyone survived. There are a huge number of agents who were injured—some critically. It's…I'm glad you're there because you're safe, but damn, Ducky we need you and Palmer."_

"I will catch the next available flight," Ducky said. He hung up before anything else could be said. He stared at his phone for a long moment before opening his phone and hitting the number for Gibbs' speed dial.

"_Gibbs," _came a very stressed, very irritated, very…upset sounding Jethro.

"Ah Jethro. I just got off the phone with Director Vance and he—"

"_Goddamn selfish sonofabitch,"_ Gibbs muttered in Ducky's ear.

"I'm sorry? Dear boy you're cutting out. I couldn't hear you."

"_He won't let me go to Tony, Duck. I need to be with Tony, not sitting here sifting through…fucking…"_ he sighed. _"Ah dammit Duck."_

"Jethro what's happened to Anthony?"

"_He…in the…"_ Jethro's breath shuddered in Ducky's ear. _"He wouldn't wake up Duck…"_

"Is he alright now? Was he merely unconscious? Dear Boy is Tony still alive?"

"_I DON'T KNOW!"_ Gibbs roared. _"I don't know because when the ambulance came to take Tony to the hospital, Vance made me stay behind. And they didn't take him to Bethesda—I don't even know where he is and—and they don't know that he had the plague and they don't know that I'm his power of attorney and—"_

"Easy Jethro, easy. I'm sure you will find Tony. What about the others?"

"_I don't even want to talk about them. I'm so mad I could shoot Tim and Ziva both!"_

"Jethro? Dear Boy what on earth did those two do?"

"_They…I'm still too mad—I can't even talk about it,"_ Jethro grumped.

"I told Director Vance that I will be on the next flight home. I do hate to leave Palmer on his special day—especially since his father is not here to celebrate with him, and yet…duty calls Jethro," Ducky raised a hand to his chest as a sharp pain ripped through his ribcage.

"_Alright Duck. Travel safe. See ya soon."_

"Goodbye Jethro," Ducky said. His breath was short in his throat and he felt like he'd been hit in the chest with a wrecking ball. He turned, meaning to head back to the party and let Palmer know what was going on, but before he could take another step a wave of heat and exhaustion washed over him, another knifing pain ripped through his chest, and Ducky dropped to the ground in an unconscious heap.

xxx

Abby set the phone back on the receiver with a sigh and rubbed her fingers absently over the cut on her cheek. She'd called several different hospitals, but none of them had Tony listed as a patient. It was really frustrating because the hospitals Abby had called were the closest to Bethesda. She pulled up the number to the next hospital on the list.

"_Georgetown Medical Center"_a cheerful voice answered. _"My name is Sheila, can I help you?"_

"Um I hope so," Abby said. "I'm looking for a Federal Agent from NCIS. He was…injured…in the explosion at NCIS earlier today, and his power of attorney doesn't know which hospital he was taken to."

"_What is the patient's name?"_ Sheila didn't sound particularly sympathetic or interested. But Abby figured this woman probably got a million calls like this a day if she got one. She tried not to be frustrated.

"His name is Tony, er, Anthony DiNozzo, Jr."

There was the sound of some typing, and Abby held her breath.

"_I'm sorry ma'am,"_Sheila said, returning her attention to Abby. _"We don't have any patients here by that name."_

"Oh," Abby said softly. "I…I understand. Thank you for your help." She hung up the phone and a sob shook her frame once before she inhaled deeply, forcing her body and her emotions back under control.

She gasped in surprise when a coffee cup was placed in front of her suddenly and she turned around.

"They were out of Caff-pow," Gibbs said hollowly. "So I thought a coffee might help."

It was six hours after the explosion. In that six hours, Gibbs had been busy. He'd located and worked the epicenter of the bomb site, mostly by himself. He'd discovered evidence that had removed all suspicion from Jonathan Cole. There was DNA found near the source of the explosion that Abby was now testing. Someone had been in the parking garage when the bomb detonated. Several other agents were speculating that the person who was in the parking garage was the bomber—and if that was the case then it would be easily solved. Gibbs, however, was not convinced. He felt sure that the bomber was alive and well.

"Thank you Gibbs," Abby said. She took a big swig of the dark, bitter brew and set it on her desk. Then she turned and wrapped Gibbs in a warm hug. "Are you ok Bossman?"

"You manage to find Tony yet?" Gibbs asked by way of response.

"No," Abby said softly. "But I only have one more hospital left to call." She picked up the phone just as one of her machines beeped.

"Is this the number?" Gibbs asked, pointing at the screen. Abby nodded. "Get your machine. I'll call this one." Abby walked away and Gibbs dialed the number.

"_George Washington Hospital,"_ a pleasant voice answered. _"My name is Peter. __How may I help you?"_

"Yes, this is Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS. I am looking for one of my agents. I hold his Medical Power of Attorney and no one told me which hospital he is in. He was injured in the explosion at NCIS this afternoon."

"_What's his name?"_

"Anthony DiNozzo, Jr. He should have his NCIS badge and Federal ID Card on him."

A moment later Gibbs got his answer. _"Yes Agent Gibbs, we have him listed as a patient here."_

Gibbs felt everything knotted up inside of him suddenly unwind. "Oh thank God," he breathed. "Can…can you tell me…is he ok?"

"_I'm sorry Agent Gibbs, but we don't have your Power of Attorney Authorization on file here. __Without that I cannot give you any more information."_

"I have the form here. Where do I need to bring it?"

Gibbs listened as Peter told him how to go about getting his POA filed with the hospital. He thanked the man for his help and hung up. "Abby I'm gone!" he called.

"Gibbs wait!" Abby raced back over to him. He turned and looked at her. "Is Tony ok?"

"Don't know Abs," Gibbs shook his head. "He is alive. That's all I know for sure."

"Thank God," Abby exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "That's more than we knew for sure ten minutes ago!"

"That's true," Gibbs said. "I'm going over there to check on him and get the damn POA filed. I can't do anything here until all of your results come back anyway."

Abby nodded and waved as Gibbs turned and left. She hoped Director Vance would give Gibbs the chance to make sure Tony was ok before giving him more orders. Her nostrils flared a few minutes later when Ziva appeared in the doorway to Abby's makeshift lab.

"What do _you_ want?" Abby crossed her arms.

"I came to see if you need any help," Ziva said stiffly.

"Funny, I thought you might be stopping by to check on your partner," Abby snapped. Before Ziva could respond Abby held out her hand in a dismissive gesture. "Just go away," she said. "I don't want or need anything from you."

"Abby that is not fair," Ziva protested. "We did not know what had hap—"

"EXACTLY!" Abby roared. "YOU DID NOT KNOW! Instead, you both jumped to a conclusion. You didn't bother checking to see if Tony was even still alive before you and Tim both started spewing! And to think! I was worried about you!"

"And we both apologized!" Ziva snapped. "But you have your head so far up your ass that—" she was cut off by a sharp slap to her face.

"You shut the hell up!" Abby snapped. She turned, pacing and glared at Ziva over her shoulder. "Do you know what I think is interesting?" she turned and stepped right up into Ziva's personal space. "I think it's very interesting that you and Tim were supposed to be bringing Jonathan Cole with you—you were supposed to have him with you for questioning—but when I found you—which, you're welcome by the way—you didn't have Cole with you. Why Ziva? Why didn't you have the person you were questioning—a suspect in EVERYTHING GOING ON—with you?"

Ziva stilled. "He…he lost us," she finally admitted softly. "We were looking for him when the alarm sounded."

"So you lost the guy—the Special Ops Senior Psychopath—the one who has tried on two different occasions to kill Tony—and you didn't call for backup? What the hell Ziva?!"

"You are too angry," Ziva said. "I am not having this discussion with you!" Ziva turned to leave.

"Maybe you won't have it with me, but you'll be having it with Gibbs. Or Vance. Or maybe both," Abby promised. "Maybe if I'm lucky I can pop some popcorn and watch the fireworks." Abby grinned evilly at the thought. "Now get the hell out of my lab."

xxx

Jimmy Palmer scanned the crowd of celebrators and frowned when he didn't see Ducky. He made his way slowly through the crowd, smiling and speaking to people along the way, until he made it to his mentor's table.

"Has anybody seen Dr. Mallard?" he asked, returning more handshakes and pats on the shoulder.

"He got a phone call several minutes ago," an older lady—Palmer thought she was Breena's aunt—responded. "He took the phone outside to answer it."

"Ok," Jimmy said, "I'm going to go try and find him. Thanks!"

Palmer stepped out of the tent and headed for the beach where he figured Ducky would go. His eyes widened and he broke into a run—all thoughts of preserving his tuxedo gone. "Dr. Mallard! DUCKY! Dr. Mallard!" he hit his knees next to his friend—his mentor—the closest person to a father figure he had—and looked him over.

"Dr. Mallard?" Palmer asked again. He checked Ducky's pulse—still there, thankfully—and let out a sigh of relief. He unbuttoned several buttons on Ducky's shirt and undid Ducky's bowtie. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911.

"_9-1-1 what is your emergency?"_

Jimmy quickly relayed what he knew of the situation. He told the operator that he was a medical examiner and reported what he knew of Ducky's vitals without any equipment to check. He told the operator that Ducky had gone outside to take a phone call and collapsed while he was outside. Jimmy gave their location to the operator and breathed a sigh of relief. Help was on the way.

Jimmy hung up the phone, wondering about the phone call that Ducky had gotten. What could have happened that would cause Ducky to collapse? Deciding to do a little detective work of his own, Jimmy pulled out Ducky's cell phone and keyed up the call log. His brow furrowed. A call came in from Director Vance, and Ducky had called Gibbs afterwards.

Jimmy dialed Gibbs' number, hoping to find some answers.

_"Yeah Duck?"_ Gibbs answered Palmer thought Gibbs sounded stressed. Stressed and…distracted?

"It's not Ducky…it's Palmer," the young medical examiner said, hoping like hell that his voice wouldn't begin to shake. "I um…Ducky collapsed. On the beach. He went out to take a call."

There was a long pause. _"Is…is he alright?"_ Gibbs' voice sounded rough and full of emotion.

"An ambulance is coming…but I was wondering if you knew of him hearing anything maybe upsetting that could cause him to collapse?"

_"Yeah,"_ Gibbs said. There was a pause. _"There was an explosion today, Jimmy."_

Jimmy thought this might be the first time Gibbs had ever called him by his first name. "An explosion? Where? What happened?"

_"The explosion was at NCIS Headquarters,"_ Gibbs said regretfully.

Jimmy swallowed hard. He could hear the ambulance approaching off in the distance. "Is…is everyone ok?"

_"No,"_ Gibbs said. _"We've got lots of agents who are dead and lots who are injured. The bomb exploded around three this afternoon."_

"When the most people would be in the building," Palmer murmured. "Are you ok? Agent Gibbs?"

_"I'm fine Palmer. I'm heading to the hospital,"_ he said. _"Tony is…he's…"_

Jimmy's stomach tightened. "Is Tony alright?" he asked. Tony was one of Jimmy's closest friends. If the Director hadn't been abducted, Gibbs and Tony would both be here for the wedding—Tony was going to be Jimmy's best man. Ducky stepped in at the last minute.

_"He took the brunt of the blast head on,"_ Gibbs said quietly._ "He's got a pretty nasty head injury from the look of it, but I don't know how he is other than that."_

"I'm surprised you're not at the hospital with him already," Palmer said.

_"It's not because I don't wanna be!"_ Gibbs snapped.

"I understand, Gibbs," Palmer said patiently. "I didn't…I didn't mean it like that."

_"I know,"_ Gibbs said, sounding suddenly tired._ "I shouldn't have snapped at you. Been a long day. How was the wedding?"_

"The wedding was great. I'd say it went off without a hitch, but…since I'm hitched, I think I'd be lying."

Gibbs chuckled._ "Hope you have better luck than me,"_ he said.

"Oh I dunno, you and Tony are an inspiration to all couples—married and unmarried everywhere!"

Gibbs chuckled again. _"Take care of yourself Jimmy. Let me know how Ducky is."_

He hung up before Jimmy could reply.

xxx

Gibbs rushed to the Patient Information and Registration desk in the lobby of George Washington Hospital. He politely introduced himself, told the receptionist at the desk who he was looking for, and presented his Power Of Attorney authorization.

The young man at the desk was very helpful and quickly scanned Gibbs' POA form and returned it to him. He directed Gibbs to the 7th Floor of the hospital—the Intensive Care Unit.

Gibbs thanked the man for his help and took off for the elevators at a dead run. He knew that he needed to hurry up and see Tony before Vance called barking more orders. When he arrived at the 7th Floor, he went to the Nurse's Station too. He introduced himself and the nurse breathed a sigh of relief. "Let me get the doctor! We've been waiting for someone to show up for him!"

Gibbs wondered if that meant Tony was in even worse shape than he'd let himself imagine.

"Mr. Gibbs?" Gibbs whipped around. "My name is Dr. Granger. I'm Mr. DiNozzo's physician."

Gibbs shook hands with the doctor. "How is he? I'd have been here a lot sooner, but…well it's a long story. Can I see him?"

"Come with me," Dr. Granger said. Gibbs liked this doctor. He reminded him of Ducky. "Tony has a severe concussion. We did an MRI and some X-rays. There is some swelling on his frontal lobe but thankfully there are no skull fractures. We are monitoring him closely, but…we fear he may be dropping into a coma."

Gibbs swallowed hard and nodded. "Long term?"

Dr. Granger shook his head. "We won't know for sure if there is any damage until he wakes up."

Gibbs nodded. "I didn't know you could do MRIs and stuff without the Power of Attorney?"

"We are authorized to do whatever is necessary to keep a patient alive in the event that the power of attorney is not reachable or is delayed."

"Good to know," Gibbs said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Good, that's good." He glanced around. "Look…I know it's late and past visiting hours, and it's probably against the rules, but…this is the only chance I know I'll have to be here. I don't know what's going to happen—I'm right in the middle of this investigation about the explosion. Could…Could I just peek in on Tony though? I won't disturb him. I can't even stay fifteen minutes, but…I need…need to see him."

Dr. Granger smiled sympathetically. "I understand," he said gently. "You two seem close." He beckoned Gibbs to follow him with one finger.

Gibbs nodded, walking along with the doctor. "We're…we're partners," he said, knowing the word had two connotations, and leaving it up to the doctor to make the determination what he meant.

"I think we can make a special exception," the doctor said quietly. "He's right here…in cubicle 18. If he's sleeping don't try to wake him, but if he should open his eyes, let us know immediately."

"Thank you Doctor," Gibbs said sincerely. He took a deep breath and pulled back the curtain to Tony's cubicle. A gasp lodged in his throat and he felt tears sting his eyes. This day was too much—and now this… "Oh Tony, no," he murmured brokenly.

Tony's head was swathed in bandages. He was on a ventilator and an IV stuck in the back of his limp hand. He was quite pale and there were some cuts and bruises on his face and neck.

Gibbs stepped closer, eyeing his lover (partner, best friend, boyfriend, companion) carefully. He picked up Tony's hand and squeezed it.

"You're still in there," Gibbs said gently, forcing a smile to his face. "Find your way back. I'll be waiting for you Sweetheart."

His cell phone buzzed suddenly and Gibbs unclipped it and glared at it. Vance. He flipped the phone open with a sigh. "Gibbs," he said tiredly.

_"Where are you?"_

"George Washington Hospital filing DiNozzo's Medical Power of Attorney authorization."

_"I need you back here,"_ Vance said.

"You told me I could do this. Abby's evidence is still processing," Gibbs growled, taking care to keep his voice low. He stepped away from Tony's bed so that his lover wouldn't pick up on his anger.

_"I know I did. And you have every right to do that. But…Gibbs there's been another explosion."_

Gibbs ran a hand over his mouth and closed his eyes. "Where?"

_"An apartment in midtown that the FBI was using as a safe house. We think an entire team has been wiped out."_

Gibbs swallowed hard. "Hold on a minute," he muted the phone and stepped back to Tony. He leaned down and kissed Tony gently, ran a hand over his lover's hair, and smoothed his blankets. "I'll be back as soon as I can. You keep fighting," he said softly. He lifted the phone back to his ear and un-muted it. "What team?"

_"We aren't sure."_

"I'm on my way. Get someone from NCIS that Tony knows up here to sit with him. I don't want him alone and I don't want Tim or Ziva anywhere near him."

_"I'll send someone. I'm sorry about this Gibbs."_

Gibbs snapped the phone shut without responding.

In the hall, Gibbs found Dr. Granger. "There's been another explosion," he explained. "So I have to go. Our director is sending someone up here to guard Tony."

The doctor looked a bit stricken. "Do you think that's necessary? We can limit who gets in to—"

"Yes. They'll need to stay either in the room with him or in the hall. I'll let you make the call. I'll have the director let you know who he is sending. Make sure you verify their ID when they arrive. If the ID doesn't match, call me immediately. There is a threat out there, and he's targeting agents. I don't think I have to tell you that Tony can't defend himself right now."

"No problem Agent Gibbs. We'll be ready. Hurry back."

"Thanks," Gibbs said with a nod. As he walked across the parking lot a couple of minutes later, he vaguely wondered—though he knew better—what else was going to go wrong. His phone rang and he glanced at it. Vance again. He opened the phone. "Yeah, Gibbs."

_"I've sent someone from NCIS your way. Tony will be well protected."_

"Thanks."

_"And I learned which team was involved in the explosion at the FBI."_

"Yeah? Which team?"

There was a pause and Gibbs' gut clenched. _"I'm sorry Gibbs,"_ Vance said sympathetically. _"It was Agent Fornell's team."_

TBC…


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** There's almost so many pairings in this story that I can't list them all lol hahaha Definite McAbby and some Palmer/Ducky Father-son stuff in this one.  
**Warning**: A bit of an intense ending…beware the cliffhanger!

**Blank Slate  
****Chapter 4****  
**

Timothy McGee was working in the hot trailer where Cyber Crimes was being set up. He was trying to get the network back up and running so he could get to work on the investigation. Vance asked him to come and help set everything up here because he felt like it was taking the Cyber Crimes unit too long to get set up on their own. Needless to say, folding tables with entire computer servers on them made Tim nervous, but this was neither the time nor the place to question authority—or question anything else for that matter.

"Kick on the A/C before this server burns itself up!" Tim called. He needed to get this server up and running within the hour. The agents needed to be able to do searches and access the internet and databases if they were going to figure out who was responsible for this…this tragedy.

As he worked, Tim wondered about what had taken place with Abby. He'd obviously upset her. He wasn't sure what he'd done though. Abby was acting strange from the minute Tim had made his little joke about Tony. Abby got so angry with him then. And come to think of it…he hadn't seen…Tony…since the explosion…

He gasped and sat up so fast he smacked his head on the table. Raising a hand to his forehead he groaned in pain and he closed his eyes trying to make sense of what he'd just thought of. Was Tony hurt? It would make sense—that would make Abby act weird. Ohhhh and then when they opened the elevator door the first thing he did was…oh he was such an ass!

Tim quickly laid back down under the table. He had to get this stupid server working so he could go find Abby and apologize to her and figure out what had happened to Tony. Tony always had his six. He was always watching his back—even when Tim was showing his ass to everyone and making disparaging and cutting remarks. As he deftly plugged in wires another thought occurred to him.

They'd lost Jonathan Cole. Cole had tried on two separate occasions that he knew of to kill Tony. Tim's hands froze and he let out a harsh breath.

If Tony was hurt and Cole was missing—had he finally succeeded?

If Cole hurt Tony it would be Tim's fault.

xxx

Palmer trotted alongside the gurney carrying Ducky into the Emergency Room. The old man's shirt was opened entirely now and there was a steadily beeping heart monitor attached to Ducky's chest. The noise was reassuring to the young man who had shamelessly left his wife to fend off the wedding guests while he accompanied his best frie—his fa—his ment—his Ducky to the hospital.

The young ME was relieved when the staff in the Emergency Room allowed him to accompany Ducky into the exam cubicle. He wanted to stay close—as Ducky's next-of-kin, Palmer wanted to stay close. He was tremendously honored that he'd been given the responsibility and he took it very seriously.

Palmer stayed in the corner of the cubicle, listening as the attending physicians and nurses rattled off machine readings and numbers. It sounded to Palmer like Ducky'd had a mild heart attack. The doctors wanted to run some tests, but they were optimistic based on the information they could gather early that Ducky would most likely be alright.

There was a break in the chaos then, a moment when everyone vacated the room. Jimmy stepped up to Ducky's bedside and looked over the old man sadly. He wanted Ducky to live forever. Ducky was one of his closest friends, the man he could talk to about anything, the man he could ask any question to, the man who taught so much just by passing on his life experiences. He gently took hold of the older man's hand and squeezed it.

"Gotta be ok Ducky," he whispered.

To his surprise, Ducky sucked in a deeper breath then and his eyelids fluttered. After a couple of moments he blinked his eyes open slowly and licked his dry lips.

"Ohhhh…kay?" Ducky gasped. The oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth muffled his words and Jimmy leaned closer. "T-team…T-To…ny…ohhhh…kay?"

Jimmy bit his lip, wishing he knew. "I um…I haven't heard from Gibbs anymore, Dr. Mallard," he said regretfully. "Last I heard though…Tony's in pretty bad shape."

"Sh…should be…there…" Ducky whispered. His eyes dropped shut and he looked absolutely exhausted.

"We'll go home soon. For now you should rest. The doctor will be back soon."

Ducky blinked his eyes open and they rolled around, looking at the room. "Tired," he said, and his lips barely moved when he spoke.

"Get some rest Ducky," Jimmy told him. "I'll go call Gibbs again and see what I can find out."

Ducky's eyes dropped shut and his breathing evened out. Palmer let out a long breath and wiped the moisture from his eyes. It wouldn't do for Ducky to see him cry.

xxx

Leon Vance was having one of those weeks when he wished he had become anything other than a NCIS agent. He leaned back in his chair and sighed. Being a shoe salesman would be nice. From his seat he could look out the small window and see the complex of trailers that was slowly beginning to take shape amidst the rubble. God there was so much death. So much destruction. So much…damage. He ran a hand over his face.

There was a thought lingering at the side of his brain, but he didn't dare let it creep to the full front. You don't ask that question. You never ask what will happen next. Especially not on a day like this.

He'd gotten off the phone with Gibbs not long ago. The other man was not happy, and Leon got it. He really understood, and he really felt bad. Gibbs and Tony had been respectful enough of their director and their careers to come and let him know when they'd gotten together, shortly after Tony got back from his stint on the USS Seahawk. At first Vance tried to throw his weight around, but then he stopped, and he looked at them. And he watched them. They weren't acting any different at work. They were professional, and respectful (as much as Gibbs is ever respectful) and…and they did a damn good job together. Once he realized that he backed off and let them have some space.

And this was one goddamn bitch of a situation. He hated this. Hated that his people were dying, hurting, frightened, on edge. He hated that their orange walls were gone from the bullpen that no longer stood proudly in the Navy Yard. He hated that he got so sucked in with the man who was making the threats—they courted around each other like distant lovers, but neither was willing to bend. Could Vance have prevented this?

He ran a shaking hand over his mouth. Gibbs was worried about leaving Tony. But he needed Gibbs on the investigation. As much as the two butted heads, Vance had to admit that Gibbs and Tony—well they were the best that NCIS had to offer. They were the ones he wanted on all the big cases. And with Tony down for the count, Vance was hoping his assumption was correct that Gibbs would want revenge. If he could use that to his own advantage, Leon felt sure they could get this wrapped up quickly. But to do that he needed to get Gibbs' head in the game.

Vance picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number. He listened to the ringing phone and then lifted the phone away from him as the near frantic voice screeched loudly through the phone.

"Hey Baby," he said. He listened for a moment. "I know…I know there's been another explosion. We're on it. But…I need your help." He listened again and then chuckled. "No I don't need you to bring me something to eat right now. What I need…" he sighed. There was no one else he trusted with this task. "Call your mother Jackie," he instructed his beloved wife. "I need you to go to George Washington Medical Center. Agent DiN—Tony's there. He was injured today and Gibbs is…concerned. I need him to help me here though, but he needs to know someone with some sense is looking after Tony. Can you—thank you honey. Keep in touch. I'm sending two Marine Guards to post outside Agent DiNozzo's room. I'll call Gibbs and let him know what the plan is. He is Tony's Medical Proxy. So if…yes he's the one you'd need to call…uh huh…that's right. Thank you baby. I love you too. I'll be home…as soon as I can. I love you." Vance hung up the phone.

xxx

Gibbs was hauling ass across town to the apartment building where Fornell and his team were…Gibbs couldn't even complete the thought. He grunted in frustration when his cell phone rang. He flipped it open without even looking at it.

"Gibbs."

"_Agent Gibbs! It's Jackie Vance."_

Gibbs sighed. He didn't have time for social calls right now. "Hi Jackie," he said softly. "How are you?"

"_I'm fine. I just wanted to let you know what's going on. Do you have a minute?"_

"I have about a minute," Gibbs said. "What's up?"

"_I just got a call from Leon. He said that Tony was…that he got hurt today in the explosion."_

Gibbs swallowed hard as the image of his precious comatose partner laying in the hospital all alone filled his mind. "That's right," he mumbled. "Can't stay with him. Gotta find the…person who did this."

"_Yes, that's what Leon was saying,"_ Jackie said. _"So he asked me to go sit with Tony. Are you ok with that?"_

"What about your kids?"

"_My mother is staying with them. We've got ourselves covered Jethro. I want to make sure you and Tony are covered too."_

"Everything's wrong Jackie," Gibbs said, letting his iron-clad control slip for a moment. "Everybody's hurt, and the office is gone, and there's people who are dead, and people who might still d—and then Ducky's…something's wrong with Ducky. Palmer thinks he had a heart attack or something."

"_I am going to go sit with Tony, but you need to let the hospital know that I'm coming so they'll let me in. Leon is sending two Marine Guards to keep an eye on us so that we'll be safe."_

Gibbs braked for a red light, his eyes wide with surprise. He hadn't expected Leon to be so…supportive. "He needs me to stay at work," the field agent grumped. "Don't wanna be there. Just wanna go stay with Tony."

"_I know you do Jethro. But I'll stay with him until you can get here ok? And I'll have my cell phone with me—and the charger—so you can call me any time day or night and get an update ok?"_

"Thanks Jackie," Gibbs whispered. He blinked and felt tears sting his eyes. This day was… He shook his head and swallowed hard. "I'm gonna go call the hospital. Let 'em know you're coming. I'll call you back later."

He hung up the phone before she could answer. Before he could dial, however, his cell phone rang. Gibbs glanced at it and nearly sobbed in relief.

Fornell.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

"_Geez Jethro you sound like someone died."_

"Thought you had, Tobias."

"_What?"_

"Heard you and your team were in the apartment that exploded. I'm heading there now."

"_I'm on my way there too. Had a couple of agents there…no word on their condition yet."_

"Which agents?"

There was a pause, and Gibbs knew that it wouldn't be good news. _"Sacks and the SWAT Team."_

"Ah dammit Toby," Jethro groaned. Sacks was Tobias' senior field agent just like Tony was his—only without the romance. "I…I'm coming ok? I've got your six."

"_Thanks Jethro." _

Fornell hung up before Jethro could.

xxx

Tim raced through the maze of trailers, looking for the forensic lab. He couldn't remember what number he'd been told it was. He stopped in between four trailers and ran a hand through his short hair and looked around. There it was. Trailer number 13—complete with bats on the door made out of caution tape. Steeling himself for the shitstorm knocking on this door would create, Tim took a deep breath. He needed to talk to Abby. She needed to know that he didn't have a clue about anything that happened—and he still didn't have any specifics.

Knocking on the door, Tim wondered vaguely where Gibbs was and what time it was. He was surprised when the door burst open suddenly.

Abby stared at him, her makeup smudged, her face streaked with dried blood, her pigtails were crooked. She looked a mess, and yet—was maybe the most beautiful sight he'd seen all day.

"What do you want." Abby's voice was flat. She sounded tired, hurt, heartsick—all of it.

"I want to know what's happened to Tony," Tim said quietly, stepping up into her space—knowing he might be taking his life into his hands by doing so. But what the hell—he'd already survived an explosion today. Surely he could handle Abby.

"What do you mean you wanna know what happened to Tony?" Abby narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. "According to you, _Timmy_, you've got all the answers!"

"Look, Abby," Tim raised his eyes to the sky for a moment before he looked back at her. "Will you listen to me? Please?"

"I have nothing to say to you," Abby snapped.

"Then listen to me. You don't even have to talk!" Tim exclaimed.

Abby's eyes narrowed more. "You have 30 seconds," she said snippily, looking at her watch. "Go."

"What I said…getting off the elevator. I'm sorry Abby. It was tasteless and inappropriate. But…But you gotta understand something," he pleaded. "Ziva and I…we were in the elevator. We didn't know—and nobody's told me YET—what happened to Tony? So I'm asking you," Tim said softly. "Please Abby. Please…what's happened?"

"Tony and I were running the tapes trying to figure out what was going to happen," Abby said quietly. "And we realized that the bomb threat was real this time. We put in the calls and started heading for the exit. We'd established that the bomb was in the parking garage—and since that is…was the closest door to my lab…we headed there first, but then we turned around and headed for the main entrance. Tony and I were juggling all of the evidence—we were trying to bring everything we needed to make the case out with us."

Tim listened with rapt attention, sure that the story didn't have a happy ending. "I stumbled," Abby said, her voice cracking. "I fell and when I did, I screamed. Just kinda came out y'know?" She shrugged one shoulder sadly. Tim nodded.

"Tony turned around. He was a bit ahead of me. Tim…oh God Tim he was out—he was out of the building and safe! He heard me scream and he turned around. He ran back towards me, but…" tears dripped pitifully from her eyes. "That was when the bomb exploded. Tony took the full force of the blast right in the face. He was unconscious when they took him away. Vance won't let Gibbs go to him. And it's all my fault. Tony would be fine if it wasn't for me!"

Tim pulled Abby into a hug. "I didn't know," he said. "No one told me. I would never have said what I did if I had known…"

Abby leaned into Tim's comfort for a moment, but then pulled back. "I still don't understand something though."

"What's that?"

"You and Ziva had Cole. You were going to question him."

"Yeah," Tim said. He didn't like where this line of questioning was going.

"He wasn't in the elevator with you when we found you."

"No," Tim said quietly. "He wasn't."

Abby crossed her arms and stared at him. Tim had the good graces to look sheepish. "We lost him," he mumbled.

"Yeah I got that much," Abby said pointedly. "Where IS he?"

"Um…well…" Tim ran a hand over the back of his neck. "We were uh…when the evacuation alarm sounded…we were looking for him."

"Where did you lose him?"

"We uh…we aren't sure."

Abby blinked. "You aren't sure."

"No," Tim whispered.

"You do realize that this is the same man who tried to kill Tony," she said. "Twice."

Tim swallowed hard, not liking that Tony was hurt and Cole was missing. "Yeah," he croaked. "Yeah I realize that."

Abby shoved his shoulder. "Don't you think _maybe _it'd be a good idea if you went and FOUND HIM NOW! BEFORE HE FINDS TONY AND KILLS HIM AGAIN!"

"Uh, yes, uh on it Boss, er, Abby," Tim sputtered, turning and fleeing the lab. He had to find Cole.

xxx

Jackie Vance spoke briefly with the ICU Staff when she got to the hospital. The doctor had already briefed the nurses of the situation. The nurses, fiercely protective of their ill and injured patients, made it very clear that the other patients should not be disturbed. They were sorry that a federal agent was injured but he was no more special than all of the other patients on the floor. Dr. Granger assured them that aside from seeing Jackie and two Marine Guards, there would be no other noticeable difference. The medical staff was given permission by Gibbs to update Jackie as they would him.

The nurse who was taking care of Tony guided Jackie down the hall. "He's still unconscious. The doctor is concerned because he's not woke up yet. Every hour he remains unconscious increases the likelihood of Agent DiNozzo dropping into a coma—which decreases the chances of him ever waking up."

Jackie covered her mouth with one hand, her eyes wide. "Has…has anybody told this to Gibbs?" she asked.

The nurse nodded. "The doctor explained to Mr. Gibbs that Agent DiNozzo may be dropping into a coma."

"Call him Tony," Jackie said. "He prefers that."

The nurse, whose name was Amelia, nodded. "Ok we can do that," she agreed. "He's in here." Amelia pulled back the curtain.

Jackie's eyes widened when she saw Tony. "Oh no," she murmured. She took a step forward, her eyes trying to take in every detail at once. "Oh Tony, oh honey," she breathed, moving her hand over his legs, smoothing the wrinkles in the blanket over his ankles.

"Ok if you don't need anything, I'll just do a quick check and get out of your way." She made a note on the dry erase board on the wall that Agent DiNozzo prefers to be called Tony and then turned back to her patient.

Jackie watched with a heavy heart as the nurse tried in vain to get a response out of the young man on the bed. Amelia checked Tony's pupil response and changed a couple of bandages on his face and arms. "He will get the large bandage on his head changed first thing in the morning," Amelia said. "This," she held the small plastic box with the wire connecting it to the bed, "is the call button. His alarms should go off if there is a problem, or if he wakes up, but this will also call us—so don't hesitate to use it if you need it."

"Thank you."

"Oh and if you need to use your cell phone, I'm going to ask that you step out into the hall and please keep your calls short."

"I can do that," Jackie assured Amelia. "Thank you for letting me stay with him."

Amelia nodded. "I'll check on you in an hour. Call if you need me before that."

Jackie nodded and sat down in the chair that had been provided for her next to Tony's bed. "Oh Tony," she murmured, "you have to pull through this. I don't know what we'll do with Jethro if you don't."

xxx

Gibbs hopped out of the car at the apartment building. Fire trucks and ambulances were still parked close and no one was being admitted into the building yet. The senior agent scanned the crowd, looking for familiar faces. He saw several NCIS agents on the scene—many that he'd spent the evening working with on the scene at the Navy Yard.

"Jethro!"

Gibbs whipped around, relief washing over him. "Tobias!" he called, waving an arm. "Over here!"

Fornell rushed over to him. "The DCFD said we'll be able to get inside soon."

Gibbs nodded and looked around. "Any suspects?"

Fornell looked grim. "Same suspect you're looking for," he said. He looked at Jethro. "First one who gets him gets dibs?"

Before Jethro could answer, a voice rang out in the night. "I NEED A BUS!"

"Ron?" Fornell breathed, his eyes on the door. The tall, dark-skinned man was leaning against the door frame. He was covered in dirt, soot, and blood, but he was alive! Fornell pushed passed Jethro and hurried towards his second in command. Gibbs followed his friend close behind. He couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.

"GET BACK!" Ron was shouting, waving his arms at everyone who approached him. "GET BACK GET BACK!" It was obvious he was injured. "There's another bomb! Get back!"

Before anybody could take Sack's advice to clear the building, the world exploded all around them.

TBC…


	5. Chapter 5

**Dedication: **Thoughts and prayers for the shooting victims and their families in Washington DC at the Navy Yard. Peace to you.

_Special thanks to my beta, Gotgoats! _

**Blank Slate  
****Chapter 5****  
**

Leon Vance glared at his ringing cell phone. He didn't want to answer it. He didn't want to be asked anymore questions, didn't want to hear any more people ask him why they didn't have the situation contained. They were doing the best they could, dammit! He glanced at the caller ID and sighed in relief at the sight of a friendly, yet unexpected name.

Jimmy Palmer. Leon flipped the phone open.

"Vance."

"_Director, this is—"_

"What can I do for you, Dr. Palmer? You're supposed to be getting married."

"_I did get married,"_ Palmer replied. _"I'm wondering if you need me to come home, sir."_

Leon blinked. "But your honeymoon—"

"_Breena and I can't leave with everything like it is,"_ Palmer said. _"She's a nurse and I…we just can't leave."_

"I'm not going to say you have to come home, Jimmy," Vance said. "But if you want to come…God knows we need all the help we can get."

"_Thank you Director,"_ Palmer said.

"How is Ducky?"

"_He's doing ok,"_ Palmer said. _"Breena is going to stay with him. The tests are showing that Ducky did have a heart attack—but it was a mild one. They're starting him on some medications to help prevent future problems. He should be released in a couple of days."_

"That is good news," Vance said, relieved to finally get some good news.

"_Has there been any word on Tony?"_

"Jackie is with him. Gibbs told me when he checked in last that he'd gotten his Power of Attorney filed. Tony…he's in bad shape though. He's not regained consciousness yet."

"_I'm glad Jackie is with him,"_ Palmer said, _"But I thought Gibbs would be with him."_

"I need him on the investigation to catch Harper Dearing," Vance said. "I can't always make popular decisions to make everyone happy."

"_That's true,"_ Palmer said sympathetically, _"But I guess I thought in a life or death situation like this you'd bend a little. Everyone knows they're together."_

"Are you questioning me Dr. Palmer?" Vance voice took on a threatening tone. Sounds like the nervous young ME was growing a backbone. He'd been hanging around Gibbs and his team too much.

"_Yes sir,"_ Palmer said fearlessly. _"I am questioning you sir. Because I think you know this is wrong and I think you are intentionally keeping them apart."_

Vance blinked in surprise and nearly bit his toothpick in half. "Goodbye Dr. Palmer. Let me know when you arrive."

"_I'll be stopping by the hospital to check on Tony first thing,"_ Palmer said.

"Let me know when you get here," Vance snapped his phone shut. He tossed it on the desk with a disgusted grunt. When had he lost control of everything?

xxx

Gibbs blinked his eyes open and coughed. He had to quit getting blown up. He was getting too old for this. He slowly pushed himself up and looked around. He felt like he'd been in a car wreck. But he supposed being blown up twice in one day would warrant such a feeling.

There was debris everywhere and the dust was still raining down on him. He eased himself up, wondering how it was possible that he was walking away from his second explosion of the day and was still unharmed. His heart twisted for a moment when he thought about Tony. Was he ok? What would have happened to him if Gibbs had just died? He needed to call Jackie, first chance he got. Gibbs brushed the dirt off of himself and ruffled his hair, freeing the dust, glass, dirt, and debris that was clinging to him.

Not far from where he'd landed after being thrown back by the explosion, he saw a shoe sticking out of the rubble. He began shuffling through the debris, hoping there was a body attached to the foot housed in the shoe. He couldn't tell who it was. There were several medics that had rushed up to Ron Sacks when he'd emerged from the building looking a bit like Lazarus rising from the tomb. He and Fornell had also hurried forward only to be immediately blown back. Gibbs let out a sigh when he realized that the person he was digging out had no pulse. He continued digging a few minutes more and let out a harsh breath when he realized who this person was.

Gibbs gently brushed some dust from Ron's still face. They'd never been particularly close, and Gibbs spent a good bit of energy cussing him for all the trouble he always caused Tony. They'd never had a great deal of use for the other, but this…

Gibbs pulled the man close to him, sitting back hard on his ass with Sacks' body in his lap.

"GIBBS!" Fornell.

"Over here!" Gibbs called.

"Gibbs are you ok?" Fornell sounded closer now.

Gibbs nodded, still holding onto Sacks. Fornell dropped to his knees beside his best friend and his fallen partner and let out a pained moan. He had some scrapes and bruises like everyone else seemed to have, but the look on his face…he looked completely broken.

Fornell carefully checked Sacks' pulse, but it was obvious that the younger man had passed.

"Ah Toby," Gibbs said, clapping a hand on Fornell's shoulder. "I'm so sorry." Fornell bowed his head low over his Second In Command. The FBI Agent's shoulder felt tight under Gibbs' hand.

Medics arrived shortly after that and Gibbs and Fornell were forced to move back. The EMTs carefully handled Ron's body, preparing him for transport to the Morgue at the FBI. Fornell ran a hand over his face, knowing he would have to make the visit to Ron's wife.

Gibbs put his hand back on Fornell's shoulder and squeezed it again. Fornell turned and stared at Gibbs, realization suddenly dawning on him. "Where's DiNozzo?" he asked, looking around. "I figured he'd be stuck like glue on your ass after everything today."

Gibbs' face hardened slightly and Fornell's jaw dropped. "Jethro," his voice belied his barely masked horror. "Is Tony still alive?" Gibbs nodded silently. "Is he hurt?" Gibbs nodded again, his movements tight and jerky. "Jethro," Fornell's voice sounded more serious now. "Why aren't you with him?"

Gibbs snorted. "Why do you think?" he snapped, but he sounded weary—there was no bite in his tone.

"Vance?" Fornell asked sympathetically.

Gibbs nodded. "He sent his wife to stay with Tony, which is good that he's not alone. I'm his proxy though—I'm his damn partner! Should be there," he shook his head sadly. "Tony deserves better than he's getting."

"Vance wants you to find Dearing?" Fornell asked, his expression stating that he already knew what the answer would be.

"Yep," Gibbs said. "But we need the information that Ziva and Tim got from Cole in order to catch Dearing. And with everything literally blowing up I haven't gotten that information yet. I don't even know where Cole is being held."

xxx

After Tim left, Abby stomped back into her lab. She hated this day! Seriously everything was such a mess. She couldn't believe—on second thought, she _absolutely COULD _believe—that Tim and Ziva had lost Cole! She knew they were searching for him before the explosion, and were continuing to look for him now, but how much more damage would he do? Would he find Tony before Ziva and Tim caught up with him? He'd tried to kill Tony twice already. Would he succeed this time now that Tony was completely defenseless? That thought worried Abby greatly. She wondered if Gibbs knew what was going on.

Abby stalked over to the computer, but before she could get started, her cell phone rang. She glanced at it and frowned.

Why was Director Vance calling her?

"Hello Director," Abby said as pleasantly as she could. But it was fast approaching the middle of the night and all of her friends were scattered—some were dead, some were injured, some were missing, and some were—

"Abby," Director Vance was saying. "Are you there?"

"I'm here," Abby responded. "But I'm distracted."

"I want to update you on the situation," Vance told her. "Abby…there's been two more explosions."

"What? Where?!"

Vance explained that the apartment housing the FBI Safehouse had been compromised and bombed. He'd sent Gibbs and several other agents there to assist with the investigation and try to collect information that could be used to find Harper Dearing.

"Gibbs and the others were working the scene. No one knew there was a second bomb."

"A second bomb in the same place?" Abby asked, her voice shaking.

"I'm sorry Abby."

"Is Gibbs ok? Are the others ok?"

"I'm still getting updates. "But…there are confirmed casualties. I just don't know who they are yet."

"I have to go," Abby breathed. "But you'd better hope that Gibbs isn't dead! Tony needs him! And if your selfish agenda has gotten Gibbs killed—and if Tony dies…I have to go," Abby slammed her phone shut, knowing full well she may have just lost her job.

A moment later, she flipped her phone open again and dialed Gibbs' number. "Please don't be dead," she murmured nervously, "please pick up please don't be dead please pick up…"

_*You've reached Special Agent Gibbs. Leave a message.*_

"Gibbs where are you? Vance said you got blown up! I…please call me Gibbs! Let me know you are ok. We need you Bossman. Tony needs you. Call me."

Abby hung up the phone and looked around her lab. She needed to end this investigation. They needed to find Harper Dearing and Jonathan Cole and the explosions needed to stop. It was enough. Abby moved to her computer and began a search for NCIS video feeds. If she could do that, perhaps she could find Cole. And if she could find Cole, perhaps they could find Dearing.

No one hurt her family and got away with it.

xxx

Once Gibbs finished with Fornell at the FBI's explosion site, he sank wearily into the car. He pulled out his cell phone, intending to call and check on Tony, but frowned when he looked at his phone. It was dead—cracked—busted—useless.

He started his car and headed back for NCIS. He needed to check in with Vance, but first he needed to check on Tony. He pulled out with a squeal of tires, hoping Abby had a spare cell phone. Now was not the time to be breaking rule number three. He figured word had gotten out about this third explosion. He knew there were people who knew where he was and would want to know if he was alright. He worried, not for the first time, about Tony. If he needed something…Gibbs was the one they would call. He was the only one they _could _call.

If he was unreachable and Tony needed him…Gibbs would never forgive himself if something happened…

xxx

Abby clicked her mouse, eyes scanning the videos on the screen intently. She'd managed to find the link to the video feed. She was watching for the moment Tim and Ziva entered NCIS with Jonathan Cole. Abby couldn't shake the feeling that he was playing a big role in everything that was happening.

There! Tim and Ziva were coming in through the secure entrance with Jonathan Cole. But…he wasn't in cuffs—they weren't even walking beside or behind him! What was this madness?

Behind her the door opened, Abby sighed, missing her heavy metal music for the thousandth time. She whipped around, irritated at being disturbed—until she saw who it was that was that was interrupting her.

"GIBBS!" She exclaimed, rushing over to him and nearly knocking him over, he embraced him so hard. "Oh Gibbs! Vance told me you got blown up again! Oh God are you ok!"

Gibbs hugged her back, soaking up her comfort and affection. "I'm ok Abs," he pulled back and tugged on a pigtail. "I got blown up again, yes, but I'm ok."

Tears filled Abby's eyes and she hugged him again. "I'm so glad you're ok! I thought you were…I couldn't stand it," Abby said. "And then I called and you didn't answer. I was so afraid. I mean I guess I should have known you were ok, because you're Gibbs, but…but everyone's getting hurt or getting killed, and I…"

"Take it easy Abs," Gibbs said. "It's alright. I'm ok."

"Vance said there were casualties," Abby wiped her eyes.

Gibbs nodded. "Sacks didn't make it," he said quietly, his eyes on his shoes.

Fresh tears filled Abby's eyes. "Ohhhh noooo," she moaned. "Poor Sacks."

"Saved Fornell and me," Gibbs said. "We were heading inside and Sacks stopped us."

"Doesn't he have a baby at home?" Abby asked.

Gibbs nodded. "Yeah. 'Bout six months old."

"Jesus," Abby breathed.

"I need a new phone," Gibbs said, changing the subject and pulling out his busted one. "Got any?"

"Yeah Tony put a pile of them in the Emergency Supplies just in case—" she slapped a hand over her mouth and her eyes widened.

"In case what Abby?" Gibbs asked gently.

"In case…something ever happened and he wasn't…wasn't here to get you a new one," Abby's lower lip wobbled as she spoke.

"Ah Tony," Gibbs whispered, rubbing his forehead. "Give me a phone Abs. Need to call and check on him."

Abby quickly programmed Gibbs' new phone and transferred all of his info to the new phone. Gibbs kissed her on the forehead and dialed Jackie Vance's phone number.

xxx

Jackie had slipped into a light doze, one of her hands covering Tony's, and she startled badly when her pocket suddenly vibrated. She glanced at her phone and moved quickly into the hall.

"Hello," she spoke softly, trying to be respectful of the others in the ICU who were hopefully getting some rest.

"Jackie it's Gibbs."

"Hi Gibbs. I'm so glad to hear your voice. The nurses said there was another explosion."

"Yeah," Gibbs said. "How's Tony?"

"He's…peaceful," Jackie said. "Resting I think."

"Has he woke up? Showed any signs of consciousness?"

Jackie was quiet, glancing over her shoulder back into Tony's cubicle. "Not yet," she said. "The doctor is worried. Says it's possible that Tony is dropping into a light coma."

"Dammit," Gibbs puffed out. "I should be there."

"I know," Jackie said sympathetically. "I'm so sorry Gibbs."

"Talk to him Jackie. Tell him about—about anything—everything. Talk to him so he knows he's not alone."

"I will Gibbs."

Gibbs hung up the phone without another word. He pinched the corners of his eyes near the bridge of his nose and took a deep, shaky breath.

Abby had turned her attention back to the video feed, trying to give Gibbs some privacy while he was on the phone. She was so angry at Dearing, at Cole, but most especially at Vance. Didn't he understand? Gibbs needed to be with Tony. If Jackie was in Tony's position—wouldn't Vance be with her?

"What have we got Abby?" Gibbs joined Abby near the monitor. His voice sounded tired.

"We have Ziva, Tim, and Jonathan Cole on video," Abby said proudly. "I'm trying to figure out where they lost him."

"Where…they what?" Gibbs rumbled, his face darkening.

Abby looked surprised. "You didn't know Cole is missing?" she squeaked.

Gibbs eyes widened and he shook his head. "No one told me!" he retorted. "Where the hell did they lose him?! And how come I'M JUST NOW HEARING ABOUT IT!"

"Ummm…" Abby's fingers flew over the keys, typing furiously.

Abby and Gibbs watched the video feed as Tim and Ziva rounded a corner. They were walking together, shoulder to shoulder, obviously engrossed in a conversation—if the talking and laughing was any indication. Jonathan Cole was following close behind the two NCIS agents. However, when they rounded the corner, heading to the Interrogation Rooms, Cole very nonchalantly turned around, going back the way they'd come, tracing their steps. Ziva and Tim continued on towards the Interrogation Rooms, never noticing that Cole was gone.

"Can you follow him on camera?" Gibbs asked urgently, his eyes scanning the screen frantically.

Abby typed a command and all of the camera feeds with Jonathan Cole popped up, complete with time stamps. "He went right to the back staircase." Abby reported. "You know—the one no one ever uses."

"The one that leads to the parking garage…" Gibbs groaned.

Abby and Gibbs watched as Cole slipped undetected into the parking deck. Gibbs couldn't take his eyes off of the bastard who'd tried to kill his partner on two different occasions. But his eyes widened in surprise as the events began to unfold before him, caught unerringly on tape, and telling a very shocking and unexpected story.

While there was much speculation over whether or not Jonathan Cole had planted the bomb…it was now becoming plain to see that…

Gibbs stared in reluctant awe at the screen as the man he'd thought to be responsible—along with Harper Dearing—moved from car to car trying to figure out which one contained the bomb. When he reached Vance's car, he listened carefully to the trunk, and then began jimmying it open. The bomb was visible by the security camera, and was larger than Gibbs or Abby had counted on it being. Cole set to work then, trying to disarm the bomb. The camera picked up the minute tremors in Cole's hands as he worked. Cole knew the bomb was here. He knew how big it was. He knew it would do a lot of damage and produce multiple casualties and dozens of injuries.

He knew it all…and…he was trying to make it stop.

The tape continued its unemotional relay of events in the parking deck, seconds before the bomb went off. Cole worked feverishly on the bomb for as long as possible. His eyes suddenly widened and Cole slammed the trunk's lid shut. He turned around, but before he could start running, there was a flash and then the camera fuzzed.

Gibbs let out a harsh breath. He looked at Abby, who was also staring at the screen in shock.

"Gibbs," she squeaked. "Gibbs…Cole…he…"

"He died trying to save everyone," Gibbs said tightly.

"That puts a different spin on…"

"On everything," Gibbs whispered. "Find McGee and Ziva," he snapped. "We will find Harper Dearing, and we will put a stop to this. Enough people have died. This ends now."

xxx

Vance was shocked, to say the least, when Gibbs showed him the tape. "Where are Agents McGee and David?" he asked, chewing on his toothpick.

"I've called them both, but haven't gotten any response. Abby said they're looking for Cole," Gibbs snorted softly. His phone rang then and he glanced at it urgently. "That's McGee," he said, flipping the phone open. "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU! There is a terrorist—a serial killer—murdering federal agents! AND YOU ARE NOT ANSWERING YOUR DAMN PHONE! What is Rule Number Three?" he snapped.

"_Never uh…never be unreachable,"_ McGee said nervously.

"Where is Ziva?"

"_She's uh, she's here Boss. With me."_

"And where is HERE, Agent McGee?"

"_It's um…we're in the coffee shop, Boss. Having breakfast."_

"The coffee shop."

"_Yes Boss."_

"Having breakfast."

"_That's…that's right Boss. But we're…we're leaving."_

"And where are you heading?" Gibbs asked sweetly.

"_We've got a lead on…where Cole might have disappeared to."_

"Oh really? I'm all ears," Gibbs said sarcastically.

"_We uh…we have reason to believe that he's on the run. He may be heading to South Carolina. He has family there."_

"So what, you're just going to hop in the car for a twelve hour road trip without clearing it with your CO first?" Gibbs sounded incredulous, but he was so angry he was ready to snap the phone into pieces.

"_Um…yes? We thought—"_

"GET YOUR ASSES BACK TO THE YARD. We have Cole and he is NOT in South Carolina."

"_But—"_

"Are you arguing with me?" Gibbs' voice dropped to a dangerous timbre.

"_No Boss. But don't we need to—"_

"I've got the video showing him in the NCIS Parking Garage at the time of the explosion."

"_How did he get there?" _McGee wondered out loud.

"You tell me," Gibbs said coldly. "You two were the last ones to see him alive. Get back here. Meet me in our trailer. You have ten minutes." He snapped the phone shut.

Gibbs looked at Vance. "My plan is to locate Dearing and end this one way or another. I will use deadly force if I need to in order to make the murders and explosions stop."

Vance nodded. "Make it happen."

TBC…


	6. Chapter 6

**Dedication:** Thoughts and prayers go out to all of the people who live in Colorado, USA as they experience substantial flooding and some really out of control weather. Be safe peeps!

_Special thanks to my wonderful beta reader, Gotgoats! __Amazing job as always!_

**WARNING:** SUSPENSE AND VIOLENCE! Nothing too gory though, but I might scare the bejeezus out of you before I'm done.

**Blank Slate  
****Chapter 6****  
**

The next two days passed slowly. Updates from Jimmy Palmer in Florida said that Ducky was improving, but a bad storm had grounded all the flights out, leaving him stranded in DC until the weather calmed down. Gibbs called Jackie Vance as often as he got the opportunity. The story was always the same from her. Tony had slipped into a light coma the morning following the explosion. It wasn't deep, but he also wasn't showing any signs of sensation or rising consciousness. Jackie did not tell Gibbs that the doctors were beginning to think Tony wouldn't wake up.

Jackie was extremely surprised that Gibbs hadn't been to the hospital since the first night when Tony was brought in. She figured he was just focusing on the case.

She had no idea how wrong she was.

xxx

"Arrggghhh!" Ziva groaned loudly, throwing the file she'd been pouring over. She hated working in these trailers. She missed her desk and her comfortable chair; the orange walls would even be a welcome switch to this. Instead she sat at a folding table, with plastic bins and cardboard boxes as the only filing system. The chairs were hard and wooden—something like Gibbs would make.

And Gibbs…

"What's wrong Ziver?" Gibbs asked sweetly, with barely masked contempt from his desk. He had his chair rocked back on its hind legs and was carefully reading over the dossier they were creating on Harper Dearing. The explosions seemed to have stopped, but NCIS had already received several more threats—threats that were being taken extremely seriously.

"I feel like a teenager who has been put on the ground!" Ziva snapped, moving around the table to collect the file that she'd thrown, which she still needed. She bumped her hip painfully on the corner of the table.

"You mean grounded," Tim said, not looking up from what he was working on. "You feel like a teenager who has been grounded."

"Yes," Ziva said. "That is what I meant."

Indeed, after their little jaunt to a restaurant for breakfast without clearance and without checking in, Gibbs and Vance had tightened down their freedoms considerably. They ate at their desks, they napped at their desks, in fact, if they left their desks at all it was to hit the head or refill their coffee cups from the carafe set up two tables down from McGee's table. If they needed Abby, she either came to them or they were escorted to her lab. They were so grounded.

"Well once you two learn to do your jobs responsibly and with some sense, and when you both quit acting like probies on my team, then I can let you off your leashes. Until then, you'll sit. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," they both muttered.

"Good," Gibbs said cheerfully. "McGee! Whatta ya got for me?"

"I have…" there was a ding, "I have an email coming in," Tim's eyes widened. "It's sent to you, too, Gibbs. It's from—"

"Dearing," Gibbs growled. "Get me a trace McGee. I want this bastard!" He clicked on the email and opened it. As he read his eyes widened and his gut twisted.

AGENT GIBBS:

THE NEXT BOMB WILL BE A FITTING PUNISHMENT BOTH FOR YOU AND DIRECTOR VANCE. JUST AS YOU TOOK MY SON FROM ME, I WILL NOW TAKE AWAY WHAT IS MOST PRECIOUS TO YOU.

"I don't…I don't understand," Tim murmured, reading the email again. "Gibbs? Kelly is—"

"Bastard's been watching us. All of us." A look of pure terror blossomed on Gibbs' face. "Oh shit," he breathed. "He's going to bomb the hospital. McGEE! GET ME A TRACE! NOW! ZIVA! CALL DIRECTOR VANCE!" Gibbs was already dialing the number for the hospital.

"This is Agent Gibbs with NCIS. You need to begin your emergency procedures for a bomb threat. We have received a threat to your hospital, which we are taking very seriously. I am sending bomb squads to you now." Gibbs answered a few more questions before ending the call.

Vance was standing in front of him by this point. "I've deployed the bomb squad. The FBI is deploying theirs, as well as Metro PD. Do you think he's serious?"

"Isn't doubting him what started this whole mess in the first place?" Gibbs shot back. He stood up. "I have to go. I have to get to Tony!"

"No," Vance said. "You'll just get yourself blown up too. Jackie is staying with him." He'd called Jackie and told her what was going on. He told her to get out, and much to his frustration, Jackie refused.

_***Flashback***_

"_Jackie—Baby—there's a new bomb threat. __For GW Hospital. __You've gotta get out Sweetheart."_

"I'm not leaving Tony, Leon," _Jackie said. _"We promised Jethro that someone would stay with him at all times."

"_They're probably not going to evacuate the ICU floors!" Leon ground out furiously._

"Then I will stay here with Tony, in the sealed ICU, and we will both be safe."

"_Jackie, I—"_

"I love you Leon. Now go do what you've gotta do."

"_I love you too."_

_***End Flashback***_

"Jackie is staying with Tony. GWH doesn't evacuate its ICU; it is reinforced and locks down instead. But they aren't going to let you in, so you might as well stay here."

"BOSS! I've got a trace!" Tim called out. "I have coordinates! I know where Dearing is!"

Gibbs looked at Vance. "You get the bomb. Do not let that sonofabitch blow up my partner twice. I'll take Fornell and we'll get Dearing. This ends NOW."

Gibbs quickly grabbed his go-bag and changed into jeans and a sweatshirt. Dearing's coordinates placed him in a small cabin in rural Pennsylvania, near Amish Country. He packed himself a backpack with everything he thought he would need—equipment, cell phone charger, ammunition, flashbangs, backup weapons, first aid kit, granola bars and bottled water. Once packed, Gibbs slung the bag onto his shoulder.

Ziva and McGee were scurrying around, gathering their own supplies. "Where do you two think you're doing?" Gibbs asked bluntly.

The two agents stopped and looked at Gibbs curiously. "We're going to help you get Dearing, aren't we?" Tim asked, but sounded very unsure.

"Ohhhh no," Gibbs shook his head. "You two bozos couldn't get a soldier from the parking lot to Interrogation without losing him. You let Cole just walk away. I can't trust you not to do the same with Dearing. If he walks away more people will die, and we've got enough blood on our hands. You're staying here. McGee plug the coordinates into my GPS."

"On it Boss," Tim said dejectedly.

"But you need backup!" Ziva said.

"I will have Fornell from the FBI with me." It was not lost on anyone, that Gibbs just implied that he trusted the FBI more than his fellow agents at NCIS.

Gibbs started toward the door and then stopped. He turned around and looked at his two wayward agents. "Take care of each other," he told them.

And then he was gone.

xxx

Fornell was pacing around the bullpen at the FBI. They'd received word of the new bomb threat. But something was off—it didn't fit with the MO of the other bombs thus far. He unclipped his cell phone when it rang suddenly.

"Fornell."

"_It's Gibbs. __Change your clothes and pack your bags. __We're going hunting. __I'm on my way to get you."_

"You've got him? You know where he is?" Fornell had gone to visit Ron's wife Lydia two nights ago. The poor young mother was distraught over the death of her husband. His funeral was tomorrow. "Can you have me back in time for a funeral tomorrow?" He wanted his revenge, but he needed to be here to support Lydia and the kids. He was torn on what to do.

_"We'll be back before breakfast. Be there in ten."_

"I'll be ready." Fornell hung up and went to go find his boss and his go-bag.

xxx

It was a beautiful early summer evening as Gibbs and Fornell raced north over the countryside. The setting sun sprinkled through the trees like luminescent diamonds, and the moon was already beginning to rise as well. It was still daylight, but twilight would be setting in soon.

"I never knew losing someone on your team could affect you so much," Fornell said softly, staring out his window. "After Kate died, I misjudged you and your desire to kill Ari Haswari." At the mention of the deceased double agent's name, Gibbs' grip tightened on the steering wheel. "But I was wrong then," Fornell said, looking at Gibbs. "I understand it now," his gaze dropped to his lap. "I want the sonofabitch dead. I want him to hurt."

"I'm sorry about Ron, Toby," Gibbs said. "He was a pain in Tony's ass, but he was also a damn good agent." Gibbs kept his eyes on the road as he drove, giving Fornell some privacy.

"Good friend, too," Fornell said sadly. "Emily is—was—is crazy about him. He was a good dad too. Damn shame. You know he was only 38?"

"Same age as Tony," Gibbs said, swallowing thickly at the thought of his partner.

"They were in FLET-C together," Fornell said.

"Didn't know that," Gibbs commented.

"Where do you think the rivalry between them began?" Fornell smiled for a moment, then it faded and his expression sobered. "How's Tony?"

Gibbs shook his head sadly. "In a coma," he said quietly. "Jackie Vance has stayed with him this whole time. She hasn't mentioned it to me, but I talked to the doctor late last night. He uh…" Gibbs cleared his throat trying to remove the lump that was forming there. "He isn't sure Tony's going to come out of it."

"Shit," Fornell exhaled. "After this…" he gestured up the road, "you're going to go to him, right?"

Gibbs nodded. "I haven't seen him since that first night. Every time I start to go, Vance has some new task for me. Something else for me to do, some reason for me to stay. It's almost like he's trying to keep me away from him on purpose." He shook his head.

Suddenly Gibbs' phone rang. "Gibbs," he answered. He listened for a few moments and then said tersely, "Keep me posted on voicemail. My phone will be off for a bit while we confront Dearing." He listened again. "Got it," he said and hung up.

"That was Vance," Gibbs said. "They found the bomb at the hospital and a member of the FBI Bomb Squad was able to disarm it. Vance talked to his wife. Jackie and Tony are both safe and ok."

"Thank God for that," Fornell said.

"Yep," Gibbs turned off his phone. "Vance said the bomb was in a moving van in the parking garage under the hospital. It would have taken down the hospital, but also taken out all of the underground infrastructure—all of the power lines, water lines…there's a major gas line that runs through there…"

"It would have levelled the whole block," Fornell's eyes widened. "Maybe more."

"Yep."

"Sonofabitch," Fornell muttered.

"No Tobias," Gibbs said grimly. At Fornell's questioning look, Gibbs smiled deviously. "Dead. Sonofabitch."

"Can't happen soon enough," Fornell agreed.

He and Gibbs both knew going into this cabin that Dearing would not be going to jail. Someone like Dearing would fight to the death or take his own life to avoid incarceration. He wouldn't come quietly or cooperatively.

A heavy silence settled over the car as they drew nearer to the cabin.

Harper Dearing was going to die tonight.

xxx

Jimmy Palmer kissed his beautiful bride. "I've gotta take this flight," he said. "There's another storm coming and they need me back in DC."

"I understand," Breena said. "You're so brave."

"Or stupid!" Palmer chuckled.

"My dear boy…give my regards…to Jethro and the others…I'm sorry I cannot go…with you and provide…assistance," Ducky wheezed from the hospital bed.

Jimmy patted Ducky's shoulder. "I'll tell 'em. But you focus on taking care of you and getting home. Everyone understands. I'll see you soon."

Palmer kissed Breena one more time. "We'll be home as soon as possible," she said.

"We'll get on that honeymoon yet, too," Palmer winked at her.

"I know," Breena said. "We'll go when the time is right, and not a moment before."

xxx

Abby paced back and forth across her makeshift lab. She'd heard about Tony's slowly deteriorating condition. Gibbs had gone after Dearing. She was still working through her own guilt over Tony's situation, and Gibbs hadn't contacted anyone in a long time. She wondered who Gibbs took for backup—she'd seen both McGee and Ziva since Gibbs left. It was common scuttlebutt around the Yard that the two agents were, as they put it, grounded.

She all but dove for the cell phone on the table when it began to ring. She wanted an update on something—anything! She'd gotten the lab report back from the DNA screening and had confirmed that the DNA samples they'd found in the parking garage belonged to the remains of Jonathan Cole. Now she was bored to tears and trying desperately not to worry. She looked at the Caller ID.

Jimmy Palmer.

"Hello?!"

"_Hey Abby. __It's Jimmy."_

"Jimmy! How's married life! How was the wedding! We miss you!"

"_It was great, thanks. __I'm loving married life. __It's wonderful."_

"So why are you calling me? I thought you'd be on your honeymoon?"

"_We decided to postpone it. __We wouldn't have any fun knowing everything that's going on here. __Breena's with Ducky."_

"Where are you?"

"_Leaving Dulles Airport. __Have you talked to Gibbs? __How's Tony?"_

"Oh Jimmy, it's not good news," Abby said mournfully. "The doctor called Gibbs. Tony's in a coma. They don't know if he's going to be able to pull out of it. The doctor said it's like Tony's giving up."

"_I'm heading over there now,"_ Jimmy said. _"Is Gibbs with him?"_

"No," Abby said quietly. "Jackie Vance is with him. Vance won't let him go."

"_Goddamn sonofabitch,"_ Palmer growled.

Abby blinked in surprise at Palmer's uncharacteristic profanity, but couldn't disagree. "Let me know how Tony's doing?" she asked.

"_You got it Abby. __I'm pulling in now. __Talk soon."_

xxx

Jackie Vance looked up in surprise when the nurse pulled back the curtain. "Jimmy! Hi!"

"Hey," Palmer said. "I'm surprised they let me in, but when I told them I was a doctor, they didn't argue. How are you?"

Jackie stretched. "I'm ok. You can only sit in one of these chairs for so long before it starts to hurt. I figured Gibbs would be here by now."

"Pffft," Jimmy snorted. "Fat chance of that happening."

"What do you mean?" Jackie narrowed her eyes.

"Haven't you talked to Gibbs? Your husband has been blocking him from visiting Tony! Gibbs hasn't wanted to stay away! Vance hasn't given him a choice! It doesn't surprise me that Tony's slipping away! And if he dies—" Jimmy broke off harshly, his chest heaving.

"Jimmy, can you stay with Tony?" she glanced out the window. It was past midnight. "I need to go speak with my husband."

xxx

"We wanted to talk to you," Fornell said to the bomber standing in front of him. Dearing had already thrown their plan off course, ordering them to leave all of their things outside—their guns, backup weapons, backpacks—everything was on the front porch. They'd been forced to drop everything before being granted entry by Dearing. Now Dearing stood in the middle of the living room, his muzzle of his gun nearly touching Gibbs' forehead.

Fornell was freaking out. This was not going how they'd expected. He glanced at Gibbs. He had another gun in the back of his pants…but had Dearing seen it? "We think you're a brilliant explosive craftsman." This was not a lie. "We want to discuss the possibility of you using your skills for good work instead of destruction."

Dearing faltered slightly. "We know you lost your son during a federal investigation," Gibbs said. "I know how bad that hurts. The same thing happened to me when my Kelly was only eight years old." Tears filled Dearing's eyes. "Would you like to see her picture?" Dearing nodded. "Can you take a step back?" Gibbs asked. "I'm going to reach for my wallet in my back pocket."

Harper, nearly overcome with emotion, nodded again and took a step back. Gibbs pulled out his gun and suddenly the two men had their guns pointing in each other's faces. Gibbs' gaze and hand were much steadier than Dearing's were. Suddenly the man held up his trump card. The trigger for his final bomb. "How high are we going to blow?" he whispered, a gleeful smile on his face. Dearing's thumb hovered over the detonation switch.

"GET DOWN!" Fornell cried, face planting himself on the floor.

Gibbs shook his head once, and just as Dearing's finger touched the button, Gibbs pulled the trigger.

Dearing fell to the ground in a spray of blood. The detonator clattered to the floor. For one half second, Gibbs wondered if he'd survive being blown up for the third time in a week. But nothing happened.

Gibbs knelt and checked for a pulse he knew he would not find. Gibbs never missed. He picked up the remote and looked at Tobias, shaking his head.

"What is it?"

Gibbs stood up and held up the remote. He pushed the button and Fornell flinched, squeezing his eyes shut. He opened them when he heard the sound of the car alarm beeping outside. His jaw dropped and he looked at the dead man on the floor, shaking his head in disbelief. He and Gibbs shared a look, knowing that Dearing knew holding up that remote would be suicide.

"I'll be damned," Fornell said quietly.

"Yep," Gibbs said.

TBC…


	7. Chapter 7

_Special thanks to my wonderful beta, Gotgoats. You work late into the night for me-and I am VERY grateful. You rock dude!_

**Warning: **Emotions are running high in this one! Be advised

**Blank Slate  
****Chapter 7****  
**

Jackie Vance stormed onto the Navy Yard with the force of a Category 5 Hurricane. The guards all quickly directed the Director's Wife to the trailer where Vance's office had been temporarily set up.

"LEON JAMAIRUS VANCE!" her voice echoed all around the Yard as Jackie got out of the car.

Vance was sitting in his office, feet on his desk, and he cringed when he heard his wife. He glanced at his watch and wondered why she was here. He stuck a toothpick in his mouth and he opened the door. "Hi Honey!" Vance said pleasantly.

Before anything else could be said, another car screeched to a half beside Jackie. Gibbs and Fornell got out. "It's done," Gibbs said. "There's a crew bringing Dearing's body in. Another crew is working the scene at the cabin. Fornell and I have both given our statements and my backup duty weapon that I used has been confiscated by IA for the investigation." It took a full two seconds for Gibbs to put all the pieces in front of him together. "Jackie?" he suddenly gasped, turning to face the Director's Wife. "Is…What are you?...Tony…?" Tears filled the agent's eyes as words escaped him.

"Take it easy Jethro," Jackie said soothingly. "Tony's condition has not changed. He's fine. Jimmy Palmer is at the hospital with him."

"What are you doing here?" Gibbs choked our hoarsely. "Why aren't you with him? YOU PROMISED ME YOU'D STAY WITH HIM!" The desperation radiating off of him was palpable.

"Easy Jethro," Leon said.

"NO! YOU SWORE TO ME! YOU PROMISED!" Gibbs snarled at the Director.

"Jethro listen," Jackie said soothingly. "He's safe. His condition is stable. Jimmy Palmer is with him and the guards are outside his door. He is just fine." She turned to face Leon. "I came down here for just a short moment. I need to have a word with my husband." She crossed her arms. "I. am. NOT. happy with you."

"What uh…what's got you so torn up?"

"YOU!" Jackie spat, pointing a disgusted, accusing finger firmly into her husband's chest. "You dirty, sorry excuse for a human being!" she snarled.

"Why don't we take this inside?" Leon tugged on his collar. Several agents had stopped and were now staring at the scene unfolding outside the Director's trailer.

"Why? Are you afraid they'll hear what you did?" Leon had the good sense to not flinch and not speak. "Go on Leon! TELL THEM WHAT YOU DID!"

"I don't know what. I. did." Leon growled.

Jackie turned to Jethro. "Go be with Tony honey. He needs you. I am so sorry you've been kept from him."

Gibbs looked at her for a long moment, his breaths catching in his throat. He looked at Leon who shook his head. "Before you go, I need a—"

"You need to LET. HIM. GO." Jackie's voice held a warning tone—much the way someone would speak to a toddler who was misbehaving.

Leon sighed and nodded at Gibbs. Gibbs turned and got back in his car before anyone could take it back or change their mind. He pulled to the gate and threw his hand up in a wave at the guard as he pulled out into traffic. He pointed the car toward the hospital and glanced at the clock. It was nearly 4am.

"I'm coming Tony," he whispered into the night. "Don't slip away from me. I'm coming."

xxx

Gibbs rushed into the ICU floor and stopped at the sink to wash his hands. He forced himself to calm down, taking deep breaths and scrubbing his hands furiously under the warm water. He looked at himself in the mirror and his motions slowed to a stop, leaving him staring at his reflection. He looked horrible. He looked…he looked old. He blinked and shook himself. He just needed to check on Tony and see that he was going to be alright, and let the younger man know that he was there, and then he could sack out in the chair beside Tony's bed.

He threw the paper towels he dried his hands with into the garbage bin and then forced himself not to run, but to walk at a sedate pace down the hall to Tony's room. His eyes widened and he gasped when he arrived at Tony's cubicle and found it empty. No guards. No Palmer. He swallowed hard. No… "Tony," Gibbs choked out. He whipped around, eyes scanning desperately, but he didn't see anybody. He hurried back to the nurse's station. "Nurse? Nurse!" The lady sitting behind the desk looked up at him and smiled pleasantly.

"Hello Agent Gibbs," she said.

"Where's Tony?! Is he alright! How come no one called me? When did he—" his eyes filled and he choked on his words.

The nurse's eyes widened. "Oh no! No, no, nooooo Agent Gibbs he's ok! Dr. Palmer ordered some scans and we figured since there's not a lot of anything going on down in Radiology this time of day, we'd go ahead and get him in. They should be back soon. Go take a seat. They should be back any minute."

Gibbs felt like a thrice rung rag. He thought he might collapse right there. "Agent Gibbs?" Nurse Amelia said gently, concern creeping into her tone. "Agent Gibbs are you alright? Do you need a doctor?"

It took a moment for him to process her words, but he shook his head. "No…No I'm fine. You're sure Tony's really ok? He's not…he didn't…"

"He's still with us," Amelia said. "I'm sorry you got so frightened. He's really ok. They'll be back soon." A buzzer sounded at the end of the hall and she hit a button on the desk. "That's them coming in now. You can see him for yourself."

Gibbs felt the tears fill his eyes and he dashed them away. Palmer was walking behind Tony's bed as the orderlies moved him carefully back to his cubicle, the heavily armed Marine Guards leading the way.

"Tony," he breathed, hurrying to follow Tony's bed.

"Gibbs! Vance finally let you go!" Palmer said happily.

"Jackie made him. How's Tony? You scared the shit out of me!" Gibbs snapped, trying to keep his voice low. He didn't want to get kicked out before he even got to say hello to him.

"I ordered a fresh CT Scan and MRI," Palmer said. "He's had the CT Scan, but they can't do the MRI until later in the morning. I didn't know you'd get here before we got back. I didn't mean to worry you."

"Do you have any news?" Gibbs hadn't let himself look at Tony yet, aside from a quick glance when he entered the room. He hadn't let himself take in any details yet. He wanted to be alone for that.

"Yes," Palmer said confidently. "As you can see, he was taken off the ventilator and his oxygen was reduced back to a nasal canula. That is a huge step." He pointed at Tony and Gibbs followed Palmer's gesture before he could stop himself.

Tony looked absolutely at peace. Gibbs stepped towards him, drawn by an inexplicable force to his partner. "Go home," he said softly, not taking his eyes off of Tony. He put one hand on Tony's mattress and the other hand brushed lightly through Tony's hair. His head was shaved so the stitches could be inserted in the cut and carefully monitored. The large bandages were gone. He looked…just like he was sleeping. Gibbs ought to know. He'd spent many nights watching this man sleep next to him.

"What did you say Gibbs?" Palmer asked, confused about why Gibbs had interrupted him mid-report.

"I said go home," Gibbs said patiently. "I want to be alone with Tony for a while." He glanced at Palmer. "Thank you for staying with him."

Palmer blinked. Gibbs never said 'thank you.' Not ever. He nodded. "Oh…ok. I'll come back before the MRI in the morning."

"Is…I need the short answer. Is he ok?"

"He's better than we thought," Palmer said. "I am of the opinion that he's not in as deep of a coma as Dr. Granger thinks he is. The MRI will help me learn more, but I did an exam to complete the Glasgow Coma Scale. His coma is not as deep as we were led to believe. I don't think it was an intentional mistake," he added quickly when he saw Gibbs' features darken. "The best thing for Tony, Gibbs, is you. You are what he needs."

"Me?"

"Talk to him. I think he can hear us. He needs to know he's safe, and he needs to know that you're with him. The doctor made notes about his consciousness level dropping over the last few days. I think you are the key to bringing him back."

"Me."

"Yes. You." Palmer smiled. "I'll be back in the morning." He waved and was gone without another word.

Once Palmer left, Gibbs stepped away from Tony's bed long enough to poke his head outside the curtain. Satisfied that they wouldn't be disturbed for a few moments, Gibbs pulled the curtain tightly shut and returned to Tony's side. He cupped the young man's face and leaned down, brushing a kiss against his dry lips. "I'm right here," he said softly. "I'm not leaving you again. Vance can stick it straight up his ass. I've got your six Tony. Come back to me."

His lower lip began to tremble, and he blinked heavily, feeling moisture pooling in his eyes. The realization that Tony could have died and Gibbs could have lost this precious time with him weighed heavily on him and he leaned over on his partner's chest. Beneath the heavy smell of hospital and antiseptic, he could still smell Tony. He was in there. He knew it. And he'd nearly lost him. He clutched gently at Tony's hospital gown, feeling the strong body beneath the thin fabric, and the tears fell before he could stop them. Several minutes later, Nurse Amelia heard a strange sound as she passed by Tony's cubicle. She stepped quietly up to the curtain and pulled it back, peeking inside. She took in the sight of the distraught agent, clutching at his partner and sobbing pitifully. She glanced at Tony's monitors and nodded, satisfied that her patient's partner was just having a moment. With a sad smile, she silently pulled the curtain back, closing it as it had been, and walked away, leaving the man to his grief.

xxx

"Can we please take this inside?" Vance hissed as Gibbs' car sped out of the parking lot.

"Ohhhh no Big Man," Jackie snapped. "We're doing this right here and right NOW!"

"It's NOT professional!" Vance snapped.

"Your BEHAVIOR was NOT PROFESSIONAL!" Jackie shot back.

"What are you talking about!" Vance snapped.

"I am talking about the fact that you knowingly kept Gibbs away from Tony. You know that he is DiNozzo's medical power of attorney. You know they're a couple—they have BEEN a couple for almost THREE YEARS! Really Leon! Who are you? Because the man I married was compassionate. He was sweet. And kind. And caring. Not some selfish, revenge driven asshole who forgets that his people have families and lives and worries and fears. DID YOU EVEN LOOK AT JETHRO?! He looked like he was absolutely worn down! If he had a physical right now he'd never pass! HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN SINCE HE SLEPT? HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN SINCE HE ATE? HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN SINCE HE SAW TONY?!"

Vance's gaze was dark, the shame was heavy on his features. "I don't know," he mumbled, his voice barely audible.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU LEON! HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN SINCE HE SAW TONY?!"

Vance looked sheepish and his gaze dropped.

Jackie took a step closer. "Would you like me to tell you how long it's been?" her voice was colder than Leon had ever heard it.

He swallowed hard and looked up at his wife. "How long," his voice was nearly inaudible.

"SIXTY EIGHT HOURS! SIXTY. EIGHT. HOURS. Now. Big man. I have a question for you."

Vance switched his toothpick to the other side of his mouth. "What's that?"

Jackie crossed her arms. "If the situation was different. Let's say, for instance, that it was me laying in that bed." Her eyes narrowed and Vance didn't like where this was going. He was so busted. "Would you be willing to go sixty eight hours without checking on me? Without seeing for yourself that I was ok?"

Vance shook his head. "Hell no," he said firmly.

"Why not?"

"Because you're my wife! Because I love you! I wouldn't tolerate leaving you alone at all!"

Jackie narrowed her eyes even more. "Jethro and Tony have been in a relationship for three years. How long were we together before we got engaged?"

"Fuh—four months," Vance mumbled.

"Do you want me to do that math for you?" Jackie's voice was dangerous.

Vance shook his head. "Can we pleeeease take this inside?" he begged.

"Gibbs will be put on leave," Jackie said, ignoring his pleas for privacy. Every agent in the Yard had seen Gibbs. They'd seen him not eating. Not sleeping. Going out of his mind worrying about Tony and being forced to continue working, to keep his head in the game, to push his emotions down. They needed this reassurance that someone would hold their Director accountable for his actions—even if it wasn't someone in the professional realm.

"Are you telling me how to do my job?" Vance sputtered.

"I damn well am! Because you're not capable of doing it!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

Jackie stepped up to him and put her hands on his shoulders. She smoothed the wrinkles in his jacket and ran her hands up and down the outside of his arms. "It means I didn't marry the person you've become. You are better than this. Abusing your agents? That's not who you are. You are a good man. So here's what we're going to do."

"I'm listening," Vance said wryly. He rubbed his forehead, trying to make the headache go away.

"I am going to go back to the hospital. I'm going to stay there with Jethro and Tony and give them whatever support they need—support they both should have had this whole time. And you are going to stay here and pull your head out of your ass," she said sweetly.

Vance sputtered, but before he could say anything Jackie had walked back to her car.

"Oh and Leon," she said casually.

"Yes Jackie?" he rubbed his forehead. He had a headache. He'd just been completely dressed down by his wife. Wow.

"If Tony dies, I am holding you personally accountable. Not Harper Dearing. Not Jonathan Cole. You. Tony's blood will be on your hands."

"WHAT! WHY?!" Vance hollered.

"Because, _Sweetheart,_ everyone knows that Gibbs and Tony keep each other going when it gets hard. You keeping them apart? You may as well have signed a death warrant."

With that, she got into the car and drove away without another word. Vance sat down on the steps and put his head in his hands. What a mess. He looked up and saw multiple agents standing around, staring at him in shock. They'd heard every word. He swallowed hard. "Nothin' to see here," he grumbled. "Everybody get back to work."

xxx

Jackie stepped quietly through the ICU hall and nodded at Amelia as she passed. Then she stopped, and turned back to the young nurse. "Is Agent Gibbs in with Tony?" she asked.

Amelia nodded. "Yes he is. I think…he might want some privacy. He was sort of upset," she said quietly.

Jackie nodded. "He's had a rough week. Is it possible to get a cot for him? I don't think he's slept since the first explosion…"

"I don't know if I can get a cot, but I can get a chair that reclines," Amelia said.

Jackie realized then that she probably should have found Gibbs something to eat before returning back here. She was almost certain that he hadn't eaten much in the past few days. "Can I order him a breakfast tray?" Jackie said. It was still a couple of hours until breakfast, but it was better than nothing.

"Sure," Amelia said, making a note for it. "Anything else?"

Jackie nodded. "One more thing. And it's kind of a big favor." She smiled. "Could he have a cup of nurse's station coffee?"

A couple of moments later, armed with the newspaper and two cups of steaming coffee, Jackie headed into the cubicle. She stopped, just inside, and raised the back of her hand to her mouth. "Ohhhh," she murmured.

Gibbs was leaning over the bed, his head resting near Tony, lips near Tony's temple, his arms cradling Tony carefully so he wouldn't hurt him, one hand twisted up into the younger man's blankets. He was sound asleep on his feet.

Jackie set down the coffee mugs and the newspaper and set her purse on the floor. She wasn't sure if she should wake him. She knew sometimes the federal agents could get pretty swept up in their sleep—so much so that they woke up swinging. But Jackie was worried about him sleeping on his feet. She was concerned he might fall.

"Jethro," she called gently. She frowned when she received no response. Taking two steps closer, her eyes drifting over both of them carefully, she smiled sadly. "Jeeettthhhrroo," she called. Still no response.

Cursing her husband and his bullheaded selfishness under her breath, Jackie headed back to the nurse's station. "Excuse me," Jackie said quietly. "I was wondering…" she carefully explained the situation, taking care to make sure Amelia knew that Gibbs was ok—just exhausted. He didn't need medical attention.

It wasn't long before two orderlies came in, one of them rolling a recliner with them. They positioned the recliner close to the bed as Jackie directed, but not in the way of Tony's bed. Then they moved quietly to Gibbs' side and began moving him towards the recliner. Jackie's eyes filled with tears when Gibbs tightened his hold on Tony's blanket, refusing to let him go. He shook his head slightly and whimpered (Yes, the Almighty Leroy Jethro Gibbs actually whimpered) and tried to remain close to his partner.

"It's ok Jethro," Jackie said from the other side of the bed. "You're safe. We're just moving you to a chair so you can rest."

Gibbs suddenly shot straight up and looked around, flinching and fighting the orderlies who held him. "GET BACK! GET AWAY!" Gibbs snarled, still trying to get his brain to catch up.

"Gibbs! Jethro! It's ok! Calm down!" Jackie called. The orderlies immediately backed away when Gibbs began fighting them. Jackie stepped right up to him and fearlessly put her hands on his shoulders, standing still and calm until he blinked and recognized her. He took several heaving breaths and glanced around. He saw the orderlies in the room, Jackie, Tony still on the bed…he was so confused…

"What uh…what's going on?"

"I got you a recliner so you can rest," Jackie said with a gentle smile.

Gibbs shook his head. "I'm fine," he muttered. "I need some coffee."

"What you need is sleep," Jackie said firmly.

"What I NEED is for people to back off me and let me live my life and take care of my partner," he snapped.

The orderlies left, seeing that Gibbs was now awake and not a threat to himself or anyone else. It had been a few tense moments though, and the two men were practically falling over each other to get out of the cubicle.

Jackie leveled a stare at Gibbs. "What you need is rest. You can either rest here, or you can go home and sleep and I will wait here with Tony until you come back. The choice is yours."

Gibbs looked so angry; Jackie really thought he was going to argue with her. But much to her relief, after only a moment, he broke his angry glare and an expression of weariness filled his face. He nodded jerkily and looked back to Tony. "Is he ok?"

"He's just fine. He's resting. You need to rest too. I'll stay here too—and I'll wake you if there's any change or if the doctor comes in. You need to rest. You have to take care of yourself so that you can take care of Tony. He needs you to be strong Gibbs. You have to sleep in order to do that."

He looked around the cubicle, taking in the view of Tony, the drawn curtain, the director's wife in front of him—a powerhouse of strength. She was like a Mama Grizzly too! "You're right," he muttered softly. "I just…" he shrugged helplessly. "I've missed so much," his voice shook and it nearly broke Jackie's heart. "I don't wanna…don't wanna miss anymore. What if he wakes up?"

"The doctor said he won't wake up all of a sudden. He's going to wake up really gradually. You have time to sleep honey. Get some rest. I'll wake you when the doctor gets here."

"Is there a blanket?" Gibbs asked. He ran his hands up and down his arms. He was chilly and achey and just really felt like hell.

Jackie handed him the cup of coffee, knowing it wouldn't keep him awake, and the bottle of tylenol out of her purse. "I'll go get you a blanket and a pillow," she said with a smile.

Gibbs nodded. "Thank you," he said quietly.

Jackie headed for the nurse's desk again. Gibbs smiled at Jackie's retreating form and then turned back to Tony. "I'm gonna sack out beside ya," he said. "I'm just in the chair. If you need me, just…let me know…you know, like wake up and poke me." He smiled sadly and kissed Tony's forehead and then his cheek. "I love you," he whispered.

He sat down in the chair and kicked back the recliner. It wasn't particularly comfortable, but it was reasonably soft. He glanced out the window at the sun that was just beginning to rise and he thanked whoever was listening for another chance with Tony. The steady beeping of Tony's heart monitor was like a child's lullaby, and by the time Jackie returned with the pillow and blanket, Gibbs was sound asleep again.

TBC…


	8. Chapter 8

_Thanks to Gotgoats for all your help! _

**Blank Slate  
****Chapter 8****  
**

The breakfast tray came and went and Gibbs didn't stir at all. Jackie smiled sympathetically as Amelia stepped carefully around him, trying hard not to disturb either man as they rested. "He seems lighter," Amelia said quietly, nodding at Tony and making a note on his chart.

"What do you mean lighter?" Jackie asked, her voice just barely audible in the room.

"Tony's unconsciousness doesn't seem to be as deep today as it was yesterday," Amelia said. "You told me that Agent Gibbs would bring him back. I have to admit, I had my doubts."

Jackie smiled. "Not me. Tony will be ok."

The curtain was shoved back a bit and Palmer smiled. "Looks like a party in here," he said kindly. Gone was the awkward medical student who'd started at NCIS five years earlier. Jimmy Palmer was now _Doctor Jimmy Palmer_ and he was really growing into himself. Jimmy smiled at Jackie, "How are they?"

"Both of them are resting," Jackie said. "Gibbs hasn't moved in almost five hours. I don't think he realized how exhausted he was."

Jimmy looked pissed. "No offense Jackie, but I blame your husband for that."

"Oh I do too!" Jackie exclaimed. "I think everyone at NCIS heard me dress him down last night."

Palmer smiled then. "I heard!" he chuckled.

"I'm sure it's quite the story around the Navy Yard," Jackie said sheepishly. "I don't usually want to fuss at anyone with an audience. And I didn't go there with the intention of doing that last night. But…you could see it on every agent and every guard on the Yard. None of them knew if they'd be allowed to go home. They had all seen Gibbs. They knew he wasn't eating, that Tim and Ziva were acting like boneheads, and that he wanted to be here instead. All that doubt? That concern? That was my husband's fault. I wanted to make sure everyone there knew that it was noticed and that someone had a problem with it."

"Brave of you," Palmer said. "But that doesn't surprise me…you're one tough cookie!"

Palmer stepped over to Gibbs' chair and shook the older man's shoulder. He was careful to move into Gibbs' line of sight so that he'd be recognized as soon as the older man's eyes opened. "Gibbs wake up just a minute."

"Huh…WHAT?!" Gibbs suddenly jerked in his chair and looked around. "The hell?"

"Easy Gibbs."

"Is Tony ok?" Gibbs asked raggedly, trying to see around Palmer to look at Tony.

"He's fine," Jimmy moved so Gibbs could see him. "He's resting. I'm going to take him for an MRI."

"I'll come too," Gibbs said. He ran a tired hand over his forehead. "Is there coffee?"

"There's no reason for you to go Gibbs," Palmer said. "It's tight and crowded, and you can't be in the room with Tony anyway. Why don't you stay here and get some more rest?"

Gibbs shook his head. "I'm done sleeping. Slept too long. Need to be with him."

Jackie put a hand on Gibbs' hand. "Why don't I take you home, let you get a shower, and we'll get you some coffee and something to eat and then be back here about the time he gets finished with the MRI. They aren't going to let you stay—but Jimmy's going to be right with him. It's really ok Gibbs. I promise."

Gibbs looked at his two friends uncertainly for a long moment. "Give me a minute alone with him?"

Jimmy and Jackie both nodded at him and stepped into the hall, pulling the curtain closed behind them. Gibbs stepped up to the bed and smiled down at his lover. Tony didn't looked as…stressed as he'd looked the night before when he arrived. He took Tony's hand gently and leaned down, brushing a kiss against his forehead, leaving his lips hovering there for a moment, just enjoying being close to Tony. "I'll be back in a bit Tony," he murmured against Tony's cool skin. "I'm going to go home and take a shower because, well, if I don't you're going to wake up and slap the stink off of me. You're going to go have an MRI. Once you're finished we'll be together again. Palmer is going with you and he won't leave you alone ok? I'll make sure he understands that. Just be brave and keep fighting. I'll see you soon." He brushed another kiss against Tony's forehead.

He nearly fell over in surprise when Tony's fingers twitched against his—almost as though he was trying to squeeze Gibbs' hand.

Gibbs pulled back and stared at Tony's face, looking for any change. There wasn't any change in his expression. "Tony?" Gibbs palmed Tony's face gently. "Tony can you hear me? You with me Tony? Tony?"

A moment later the curtain was ripped back and Jimmy hurried into the room along with Dr. Granger and Amelia. "Did something happen with Tony, Gibbs?" Palmer asked as Dr. Granger checked Tony's eyes for pupil response.

"He squeezed my hand!" Gibbs said, a smile of relief on his face. "I told him he was going to go for the MRI and that I was going to run home and grab a shower and that we'd be together after that. I kissed his forehead and after that he squeezed my hand."

"That's wonderful news!" Dr. Granger said, checking Tony's other eye. "Hmmm…that's interesting…"

"What!" Gibbs exclaimed, eager for any news of progress his partner was making.

"When I was checking his pupil response…there wasn't really any change in his pupil response, but there was…muscle tension around his eye—almost as though he wanted to close his eyes back. As though the light was too bright, perhaps?"

"We should really do that MRI now," Palmer said. He glanced at Gibbs and smiled. "I knew he'd respond to you."

Gibbs smiled sheepishly and shrugged one shoulder. "He's not out of it yet—he didn't respond when I called out to him."

"That's really normal Agent Gibbs," Dr. Granger said. "Many times on television, Hollywood shows people in situations similar to Tony's. They'll wake up all of a sudden, completely coherent—even if they're experiencing something like Retrograde Amnesia. That's not really how things work. As Tony regains consciousness, there will be…levels of consciousness that he will need to pass through. He's not as deeply unconscious today as he's been for the past few days. The squeezing of your hand is a big step for him. We'll watch him closely to see if he continues to improve. Do not get discouraged though, if it takes him a while to regain consciousness. Even after he 'wakes up' and opens his eyes though, he may not be himself at first. Tony was very deeply unconscious. It takes a while for the brain to heal from that."

Gibbs thought about that. "That makes sense," he said after a few moments. He glanced at Tony and smiled. "Go do the MRI. I'm going to go home and grab a shower like Jackie suggested." He turned to the Director's wife. "If it's alright with you though, I'd like to go alone. You should go check on your kids. You haven't seen 'em in a few days."

"Are you sure Jethro?" Jackie asked. "I don't mind hanging out with you."

Gibbs smiled. "I'm sure. Go check on your family. If you want to come back to the hospital you are certainly welcome to."

"How about you grab some lunch while you're out and I'll bring dinner back here and eat with you."

"Sounds good," Gibbs agreed. "Look I…I know I don't say it much," he glanced around the room nervously, "but I really appreciate what all of you are doing for Tony. And for me. I…I couldn't have survived these past few days without your help."

xxx

Gibbs closed his front door and leaned against it, letting out a long breath. It'd been a shitty week. He hadn't been here at all since the Director disappeared six days before. He glanced around, taking in the casual familiarity of the house. Tony's jacket was strewn haphazardly across the back of the couch. He smiled, remembering how it had landed there. He let the memory wash over him and his eyes drifted to the other side of the room—sure enough, there was the button down shirt Gibbs had worn the same night Tony was wearing the jacket…It had landed on the lampshade—nearly knocking the lamp off of the table. With a shake of his head and a chuckle at their wild and crazy lovemaking, Gibbs set about picking up the articles of clothing around the room. It was probably a very good thing that no one had needed to come here. It was lucky they were both still alive.

His hands shook slightly at that thought and Gibbs lifted Tony's jacket to his face. The faint scent of Hugo Boss cologne still clung to the denim fabric, along with that smell that was classic original "Tony."

"I almost lost you," Gibbs whispered to no one. "I'm not going to let you go Tony. You can't leave me yet."

He piled the clothes in the floor near the kitchen and headed upstairs. He needed a shower, coffee, lunch, more sleep, and Tony. Not necessarily in that order.

xxx

The shower was absolutely divine. Gibbs stood under the almost-scalding spray for a long time, just breathing in the steam and letting the stress of the past six days wash off of him. He felt as his muscles began to unknot and if some tears escaped in the midst of the water showering over him…well he didn't feel a need to let anyone know about that. It'd been one of the shittiest weeks he'd had since…

Images of Kate's death drifted through his mind.

Images of waking up in the hospital, with no memory of where he was or how he'd gotten there or where the previous twenty years had gone.

Images of Tony's car exploding, Jenny being killed, Tony being sent away as Agent Afloat.

And now…this…the explosion at NCIS…all of those people, his friends, colleagues…dead, injured…Tony injured…Vance keeping him away…

He smiled as he thought about Tony squeezing his hand this morning. Perhaps this was a turning point. Things were going to get better.

He'd have his Tony back home before he knew it. And Tony would be good as new. Things would be fine. It would go back to normal in no time at all.

Once he finished his shower, Gibbs stepped into his bedroom, a towel wrapped around his waist and he opened his closet, pulling out a long-sleeve t-shirt and jeans…sometimes the hospital rooms got really chilly. He pulled on his clothes and stepped back to the bathroom. He felt the coolness of the tiled bathroom floor through the socks he wore and wiped his towel over the mirror to wipe away the condensation that had formed there during his shower. He quickly brushed his teeth and shaved. A comb through his hair left him inspecting his appearance in the mirror.

"Gettin' old Marine," he growled at his reflection.

He went back into the bedroom and picked up his shoes. Gibbs sat down on the bed and put his shoes next to him. He yawned and shook his head, trying to shake off the exhaustion that was tugging at him. He glanced at his pillow and another yawn escaped him. He leaned over and rested his head on his pillow. He just wanted to rest for a bit. Tony was getting his MRI and Palmer and Dr. Granger said that would take a while. If he took a short nap here then he wouldn't need to sleep so much when he got back to the hospital…

xxx

"Where is Gibbs?" Palmer asked Jackie when she arrived back at the hospital. It was later in the afternoon, creeping up on dinner time. Palmer had stayed the whole afternoon with Tony, waiting for Gibbs to come back. When Jackie arrived and Gibbs wasn't with her…Palmer began to worry.

"He's not back yet?" Jackie asked, concern evident in her tone. "Where could he be? He was just going to go home and shower and come back!" She pulled out her phone and dialed.

_*You've reached Special Agent Gibbs. Leave a message.*_

Jackie closed her phone. "He's not answering," she said quietly. She looked around and bit her lip nervously. "I'm going to go check on him. It's been hours…he should be back by now."

"I'll stay here," Palmer said with a nod. "That's a good idea."

xxx

Jackie stood at Gibbs' front door and raised her hand, knocking firmly on it. After a couple of minutes with no response, Jackie looked around nervously and rang the doorbell. She didn't hear it echo inside the house. It must not be working. She knocked again. When he still didn't answer the door, Jackie reached out to check and see if the door was locked. She gaped at the door when it suddenly swung open, granting her access into Gibbs' domain.

"Gibbs!" she called, stepping through the house. She saw the pile of clothes—that obviously did not only belong to Gibbs—and she clutched her keys and purse nervously to her person as she moved through the house. "Gibbs!" she called again, starting up the stairs.

She wandered down the hall and saw him in his room, on the bed, sound asleep. Jackie thought he looked a bit like a little boy laying there, hands tucked up near his face and his hair mussed. He had put one of his shoes on before he fell asleep and it even looked like he was drooling on his pillow.

"Oh Jethro," she whispered. She knocked on the bedroom door and Gibbs stirred. "Gibbs!" she called quietly and she saw his eyes open. A moment later she squeaked in startled surprise when he pulled a gun, seemingly from nowhere, and pointed it in her direction. "It's me! Jackie!" she called.

Gibbs immediately lowered the gun. "Shit, sorry," he mumbled. "Time is it?"

"Nearly five," Jackie told him. "We got worried when you didn't come back to the hospital."

"Didn't mean to sleep so long," Gibbs mumbled, still trying to wake up. "Tired."

"You've had a long week. Let's go back to the hospital Jethro. Tony's making progress."

"Is he awake yet?" Gibbs immediately perked up.

"Not yet," Jackie shook her head. She didn't tell him about all of the progress Tony had made. She wanted to let him discover it on his own.

xxx

Gibbs entered the hospital cubicle slowly. He frowned when he saw both Palmer and Dr. Granger with Tony. Amelia was hovering close by. "Is he alright?" he asked.

Dr. Granger smiled. "He's doing great."

Palmer turned to Gibbs. "Come see," he said, motioning for Gibbs to move closer and stepping out of the way to make room for him.

Gibbs stepped up to Tony's bed. Tony's eyes were still closed and it didn't look like he'd made any change since he'd left early seven hours earlier. "I don't get it," Gibbs said curiously.

"He's moved his head, his foot, his hand, and he scowled when the doctor checked his pupil response earlier," Palmer said excitedly.

Gibbs looked Tony up and down. "Really?"

"Yep!"

"I don't see it," Gibbs said sadly, shaking his head. "He doesn't look any different to me."

Jimmy moved out of the way and pulled Gibbs up closer to Tony's face. "Now," Jimmy said. "Touch him. Rub his arm, pat his hand, something. And watch what he does."

Gibbs glanced at Palmer like he'd grown another head. He didn't want to get his hopes up. Sure it seemed like Tony had squeezed his hand earlier, but hours later he wasn't convinced he'd actually felt it. Perhaps it had just been a muscle twitch. A happy accident spurred by exhaustion and emotions running high that made Gibbs feel more hopeful than he had a right to. It seemed almost cruel of the doctors to get his hopes up in this way. He took a deep breath and reached out and grasped Tony's hand with one of his own, and rubbed his other hand gently up and down Tony's arm.

"Hi Tony," he said, keeping his voice quiet. "It's Jethro Tony. I'm right here."

He gasped in surprise when Tony's hand twitched in his again—a bit more intentionally this time—and his head…rolled towards Gibbs. Tony's lips moved slightly and then he resettled. Gibbs' eyes widened and he looked up at the doctors in the room.

"Is he waking up?"

"Yes," Palmer said. "Remember we told you that he won't wake up suddenly. But if he continues progress like this, there's a chance he might regain a higher level of consciousness tomorrow."

Gibbs nodded. He smiled down at Tony and leaned over, pressing a kiss to the younger man's cheek. "Proud of you," he murmured into Tony's ear. Tony scowled and rolled his head away. Gibbs smiled and shook his head. "Cheeky bastard," he murmured affectionately.

He turned to the others. "Thank you for staying with him. Palmer what did the MRI show?"

"He's really in good shape. His brain images look very good."

Gibbs felt a lump form in his throat and he smiled. "Any uh…any brain damage?"

Palmer looked at Tony's chart. "Well we won't know for sure until he fully regains consciousness, however we are hopeful." Suddenly Jimmy's phone rang on his belt. He glanced at it. "That's Director Vance."

"Probably looking for me," Gibbs muttered.

"Doubtful," Jimmy smirked. Jackie had told him all about what she'd said to her husband. He flipped his phone open. "This is Palmer." He listened for a moment and then nodded. "Ok, I'll be there soon." Palmer closed his phone and glanced at Gibbs and the others. "I have to go to NCIS. There's a case with a body. And…with Ducky out…" he shrugged.

"Go on Palmer," Gibbs said with a smile. "Thank you for all your help."

Palmer's eyes widened slightly, surprised at the expression of thanks he'd just received. "You're uh…you're welcome Gibbs." He bid them all goodbye and then left them alone.

xxx

Gibbs sent Jackie home to go to bed. He knew she was exhausted and he was going to stay with Tony tonight. Jackie kissed each of them on their foreheads and then left. Gibbs paced around the cubicle a couple of times and then settled into the chair. He talked quietly to Tony, but wasn't getting any response from him now. Dr. Granger explained that, even unconscious, a person can still go through periods of waking and sleeping.

A while later, Gibbs was in the chair, half asleep, half staring out the window when the curtain pulled back. "Hi," Amelia said. Gibbs was trying to figure out when Amelia was not at the hospital—she'd been on duty every time Gibbs had been there.

"Do they ever let you go home?"

Amelia smiled. "I'm covering for another nurse, Rosie. She's at home—very sick and verrrry pregnant."

"Nice of you," Gibbs commented.

"She covered for me when I had my baby. It's the least I can do," Amelia shrugged. "You have two visitors. A girl named Breena and an older man named—"

"Ducky," Gibbs said, feeling his heart swell with emotion. "Can they come back here?"

"Unfortunately no," Amelia said. "I checked the forms…they aren't on the list, and it's after visiting hours."

"Am I ok to stay?" Gibbs asked quietly. He'd just gotten back to Tony; he hoped they wouldn't make him leave.

"You're fine to stay. In fact, that is actually listed as a doctor's order now. Dr. Granger noticed a difference in Tony's condition after you returned."

"Can I go out and see Breena and Ducky and then come back in?"

Amelia nodded. "Yep, you can ring the bell. Everyone knows you and Tony," she winked. "You're the best looking pair of guys we've seen on this floor in a while. But if no one is at the desk, the code is star-3-9-8-4-7-pound."

"Star-3-9-8-4-7-pound. Got it. Hey Amelia?"

"Yes Gibbs?"

He handed her a twenty dollar bill. "Get yourself something good to eat and drink," he said with a smile.

"You don't have t—"

"I know I don't. I don't even know if it's allowed. But you have taken excellent care of Tony." He smiled fondly at his partner and then at the nurse. "It's the least I can do."

Amelia's eyes glazed with tears. She felt a bit silly, tearing up over twenty bucks. But she hadn't told Gibbs that she'd spent nearly her entire paycheck on bills, baby formula, and diapers. She was short on gas money—twenty bucks would get her through to payday! "Thank you Agent Gibbs," she said, staring at the money.

There was a lot of quiet conversation in the ICU amongst the nurses. Gibbs didn't tell Amelia that he'd overheard her talking to another nurse about being short on cash. And she was a nice girl. She had taken excellent care of Tony. Gibbs thought this was a small price to pay to show his appreciation. "You're good at what you do," Gibbs said with a shrug. "I'd trust you with my life—I do trust you with _Tony's _life_._"

Amelia smiled. "You really love him don't you?" she said with a touch of wonder in her voice. Agent Gibbs was grouchy and snappish and borderline rude—except with Tony. Then all of the crispy outer shell fell away, and an exceedingly caring, patient, loving and compassionate man was left in his place.

Gibbs nodded. "More than my own life," he told her sincerely. "So my trusting you with him…well it's kind of a big deal for me." He smiled. "I'll be back." He pulled the curtain closed behind him and Amelia was left alone with Tony.

"You are one lucky man, Tony DiNozzo," Amelia said with a smile as she fluffed Tony's pillow. "One damn luck man. I hope you know that."

xxx

"Ducky! Breena!" Gibbs greeted his friends warmly as he entered the waiting area.

"Jethro," Ducky was tired but happy to see his friend. "My dear boy! It is so good to see you safe and unharmed."

"Thank Duck. Got lucky…several times," he added with a hint of chagrin in his voice. "How are you? I didn't know you were out of the hospital!"

"I am doing just fine," Ducky assured him. "A minor blip in the system is all. Some rest and I will be as good as new."

Gibbs glanced at Breena, standing behind Ducky's wheelchair, and she nodded.

"Enough about me," Ducky tutted. "How is Anthony?"

"Improving, but still unconscious," Gibbs said. "But earlier today he squeezed my hand. Palmer said he moved some more this afternoon and this evening he turned his head toward me when I spoke, and he squeezed my hand and then scowled at me," Gibbs' voice held a note of pride.

"That is wonderful news!" Breena exclaimed.

"It is indeed good news," Ducky agreed. "Are they concerned about the potential for bran damage?"

Gibbs shook his head. "They said there's no way to know for sure until he wakes up, but the brain imaging scans all look good."

Ducky nodded. "I must point out the similarities between Anthony's current situation and the situation you found yourself in several years ago just before you fled to Mexico."

Gibbs nodded. "We're all hoping things turn out a bit better this time."

Ducky nodded in agreement. Gibbs smiled, but he was concerned. Ducky looked so…old.

"Tell ya what Duck," Gibbs said. "Why don't you and Breena get some rest and I'll get you added to the approved visitors list and we will get you in to see Tony tomorrow."

Ducky nodded. "That sounds satisfactory. I do tire rather easily these days," the old man agreed. "However I could not rest until I had an update on Young Anthony's condition."

"Coulda called," Gibbs smiled.

"You know that's not the same Jethro!" Ducky admonished.

Gibbs nodded. "Yeah," he swallowed thickly. "I do know."

xxx

Gibbs got Ducky added to the visitors list, but was unable to add Breena, due to limits on the number of people allowed on the list. He returned to Tony's cubicle and smiled—Tony had pulled his right hand into a tight fist. The smile faded from Gibbs' face when, upon closer inspection, he saw lines of stress around Tony's mouth and eyes. He stepped to the bed and gently loosened Tony's fist before holding the hand in his own. He ran his fingers lightly through Tony's hair, fingertips scratching soothingly along his scalp. He pressed his lips gently against Tony's, but pulled back, confused, when Tony moved slightly away.

"Tony? Babe it's me. It's Jethro. I think you might be having a bad dream or something. I love you Sweetheart. Just try to rest and relax. I'm staying with you and I'm watching your six. You're safe."

It took a few minutes, but slowly, Tony started to calm. His breathing drew slightly deeper and gentler, but the lines of stress remained on his face. Gibbs was concerned, so he hit the call button on Tony's bed.

A moment later, Amelia poked her head into the cubicle. "What's going on Gibbs?"

"I don't know," Gibbs said uncomfortably. "I came back in here from the waiting room and his hand was in a fist. He was breathing a little…puffier than normal and his face…" Gibbs indicated Tony's facial expression.

"Ohhhh I see," Amelia said. "Yes, he does look stressed," she commented. "I wonder if he's having a bad dream."

"I was wondering that, but now I am wondering if he's hurting," Gibbs said, not taking his eyes off of Tony.

"Let me go see if I can find Dr. Granger. We'll make sure he's ok." Amelia turned and hurried out of the cubicle.

A few minutes (it felt like decades) later, Amelia came back with Dr. Nelson. "I'm the doctor on the floor for the night," he shook hands with Gibbs. "Let's check our patient."

Dr. Nelson carefully checked each of Tony's vital signs. He checked him for signs of rising consciousness. Then he rubbed his hand over his chin and frowned. "He's absolutely demonstrating signs of rising consciousness."

"Is he hurting?" Gibbs asked.

"It's hard to say," Dr. Nelson said. "But because of that…I'm really reluctant to give him any pain medication—if he's going to wake up I don't want to do anything to hinder that."

"Yes, but if he's hurting I want you to help him," Gibbs said firmly.

Dr. Nelson nodded. "I can try to get a pain specialist in here if you want. His consciousness level is definitely rising. I just…don't want to hinder that. This is a crucial time for him."

"Let me try something?" Gibbs asked.

Dr. Nelson nodded. Gibbs stepped up to the bed. "Tony," he grabbed the young man's hand. Tony's hand twitched in his. "Attaboy Tony. Just relax ok? Get some sleep. You're safe. I'm with you." He looked at the doctor. "Now we've gotta watch his vitals. He relaxes if he's nervous and knows I'm with him. If he's hurting he won't relax."

The doctor nodded uncertainly. "I'll still call the pain specialist. But I'll have Amelia check his vitals. Amelia," he turned to her, "Every ten minutes ok?"

Amelia nodded. "Ok!" she made a note on Tony's chart as Dr. Nelson left. Gibbs was frowning. "You alright Gibbs?" Amelia asked.

"Don't like that damn doctor," Gibbs snapped. "I want Tony to wake up more than any of you. I am well aware that he's got a severe concussion. I am also aware that with concussions come severe headaches. If he's hurting, I want to help him."

"I wonder if it would help him if I got him an ice pack for his head? And we can turn off the lights. Sometimes light feels like battery acid when you have a headache like that—even with your eyes closed. But we can do those things and not depress his consciousness."

Gibbs could have hugged her. Amelia was brilliant. "It's worth a shot," he nodded.

Amelia hit the lights on her way out. Gibbs sat down on the edge of Tony's bed. He picked up Tony's hand and set it in his lap, holding it gently, but not restricting his movement.

Tony's hand twitched in his and his head moved slightly. Gibbs began brushing his fingertips through Tony's hair. Tony's fingers twitched again and Tony let out a sound that was a bit like a sigh. Amelia came back and carefully moved Tony's head onto a pillow sized, flat, cold mat, and placed a cool wet washcloth over Tony's eyes to help block out the lights from the monitors. Tony's head rolled towards Gibbs and the older man smiled at the acknowledgment. Tony moaned softly, a mumbled, incoherent sound and Gibbs beamed. He leaned over and kissed Tony's forehead.

"Get some sleep Tony," he whispered in his lover's ear. "Then wake up and see me tomorrow."

TBC…


	9. Chapter 9

_Thanks as always to my wonderful beta, Gotgoats, for all your help with this chapter!_

**Author's Note:** Surprise! McAbby!

**Blank Slate  
****Chapter 9****  
**

Palmer knocked on the door covered in caution tape bats and let out a long breath. He was worried about Abby. She wasn't herself. He'd checked on her a couple of times and he'd called her on the phone a couple of times too, but…ever since the explosion she just wasn't _Abby._

Abby opened the door and her eyes widened in surprise. Her makeup was smudged and it was quite obvious she'd been crying. "You ok Abby?" Palmer asked, stepping into the lab.

Abby pulled the door closed behind him and blew her nose into a tissue. "I just…everything is…" she blew her nose again. "It's all messed up!" she wailed.

Palmer sat down in her roly chair and smiled sympathetically. "It's getting better."

"It's going to be months before things are back to normal! They have to build a whole new headquarters!" Abby exclaimed, waving her arms around. "And Tony! Tony is—"

"Tony is going to be fine," Palmer said firmly. "Abby—honey—why don't ya go see him?"

"What? Go see him! NO WAY!" Abby shook her head firmly. "It's my fault that he—and he doesn't want to have me around because—" fresh tears filled her eyes.

"Hey hey hey," Palmer stood up and put his hands on her shoulders. He pulled her into a hug and rested his chin on top of her head. "Calm down! It's alright! Tony will absolutely want you around! He doesn't blame you—no one blames you for his getting hurt!"

"But—but it's my fault!" Abby sobbed. "It's my fault…I just…I killed my best friend…"

"He's not dead Abby," Palmer said soothingly, "He's getting better! His consciousness level is rising and he is becoming more aware with every passing minute. We did new brain scans today and his brain looks normal—I couldn't see any signs of brain damage."

"You thought about being a Neurologist, didn't you? Seems like?" Abby looked at her friend.

"I thought about it. For a very brief moment," Palmer smiled. "But I'm much happier working in the basement."

"Only 'cause you see dead people," Abby giggled, quoting one of the group's favorite movies.

"Nice movie reference," Palmer praised.

"Somebody's gotta do it," Abby grumbled. "Thanks to me Tony's not here to do it."

xxx

Tim groaned and hung up the phone. He made a note in the case file and closed it. Then he tossed his pen down on the desk and rubbed his hands over his face. He hadn't been home in nearly five days. He was glad he'd set it up with his neighbor to walk Jethro the German Shepherd for him while he was away on cases. His neighbor was a nice young man who was a college student at American University.

Glancing up, he looked wearily around their office. Tony's desk was obviously empty, as was Gibbs' desk. They hadn't heard from Gibbs since before he went to find Dearing. Tim and Ziva had been informed by Vance that Gibbs had eliminated Dearing and was now out on personal leave so he could stay with Tony. They'd heard that Tony was slowly improving. They'd also heard—along with just about every other agent in the Yard—when Jackie had ripped Vance's ass apart night before last.

Tim didn't know what Ziva was doing, but it was fairly obvious she wasn't working on cold cases. He was seriously about through with her. It seemed as though she was usually the cause for him getting into trouble. He remembered back before Kate died…he didn't get into nearly as much trouble then as he did now.

Ziva was working at her computer, typing rapidly, a devious and satisfied smirk on her face.

"Whatcha doin' Ziva?" Tim asked, only mildly interested in what she had to say.

"That is need to know information, McGee," she said smugly. "And you do not need to know."

Tim snorted and shook his head. "You got that one right," he muttered. "Whatever Ziva," he said louder. He picked up his phone and dialed Gibbs' number. A quick glance at the clock told him it was nearly lunchtime.

"Yeah, Gibbs," Gibbs answered two rings later.

"Hey Boss. I-I was calling to check on Tony."

"He's doing better," Gibbs sounded better, too. "His consciousness level is rising. They think he might open his eyes today. He's responding to outside stimuli."

"Oh good," Tim said, relieved.

"Will you let Abby and the others know for me?"

"I'll call her," Tim said.

"Don't call her, Timmy," McGee said. "Go see her. She…she needs you there in person. Even if she doesn't realize it yet."

"Ohhhh…ok. Does this mean we're ungrounded Boss?"

"It means you can walk to Abby's lab and back," Gibbs sounded so…patient. "We'll see how you do with this before I let you off your leash." Tim could hear the smile in Gibbs' tone. He smiled too, relieved to have mostly survived Gibbs' wrath—again—for now.

"Sounds good Boss."

"Come by this evening. Tony will know you're here, even if he doesn't wake up and talk to you."

"I will. Thanks Gibbs. Should I bring Ziva?"

"Up to her, McGee. She or Abby, either one, I don't care. You'll only be allowed back one at a time. I've got you on the visitor's list. Visiting hour is from six to seven."

"Got it. Thanks Boss. See you later." Tim realized Gibbs had already hung up and he was talking to himself. He set the phone down, shaking his head at himself. When would he learn? "Ziva?" he called.

Ziva huffed exasperatedly at the interruption. "What?!"

"Gibbs said we can go visit Tony this evening. He said ICU Visiting Hour is from six to seven."

"Oh," Ziva looked down. "I will not be able to go then," she said. "I am unavailable."

Tim blinked in surprise. "What will you be doing? What's more important than going to see Tony?"

Ziva looked uncomfortable. "I will be on a plane to Tel Aviv," she said.

"Tel Aviv? Are you taking leave to go visit your family?"

Ziva shook her head. "No," she said quietly. "I have been offered a position. As a team lead. With the Israeli Mossad." She swallowed hard. "I am going to accept their offer. I am resigning from NCIS this afternoon, effective immediately."

"You're…what?" Tim couldn't believe his ears. "You're just going to leave? Why?"

"Look around us Tim!" Ziva snapped. "We are grounded. We may as well be chained to our desks. Our potential is being wasted. Gibbs does not trust us! Vance does not trust us! Give me a good reason why I should stay?"

Anger washed over Tim. "We are grounded because we screwed up Ziva. Gibbs and Vance don't trust us because we lost Cole somewhere between the parking lot and the interrogation room. Our punishments are fair! We screwed up! Why should you stay? Because you should have to own up to your actions and face the consequences!"

Ziva snorted.

"But you aren't a team player," Time snapped, walking over to her table. "So you don't understand that," he said coldly. "I feel sorry for your team Ziva. I hope for their sakes that all of you survive—and that they survive YOU." He shook his head disgustedly. "Goodbye Ziva," he turned and walked away from her. He wondered if Gibbs and Vance even knew.

He sure wasn't going to be the one to tell them.

xxx

Abby was dozing lightly in her lab and startled badly when she heard the knock at the door. Vance had told her that she could return home as soon as this last batch of evidence processed. She smoothed her clothes and hair and opened the door. "Tim—what…what are you doing here?"

"I…Gibbs sent me to talk to you, Abby."

Abby's face clouded with tears. "Oh no," she whispered, raising a shaking hand to her mouth. "Oh not Tony," she whimpered and her voice cracked.

She leaned towards Tim and he wrapped her in a hug. "What? NO! It's not—I came to tell you—Tony's doing better Abby! And Gibbs wants us to come see Tony tonight. He's ok! He's doing better! I'm so sorry I scared you!"

Abby clung to him, sobbing desperately. Tim took everything she threw at him and he held her tightly, his chin on top of her head. How long had she been here? Had she slept? Eaten? He'd been so caught up in his own unfortunate situation (self-inflicted though it was) that he'd not even really checked on her. He realized that he was to blame for that. "It's ok Abby," Tim ran his hand over her silky black hair. "Shhhh let it out…I've got you…It's really going to be alright."

"It took a few minutes for Abby to calm down. Finally she pulled back and stared at him. "Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to freak out on you."

"How long have you been here Abby?" Tim asked gently.

"What day is it?" Abby asked blankly. She didn't look like she could take one more ounce of stress—she looked like a stiff wind would blow her down.

Tim thought about it. He pulled out his phone and he looked at it. "It's Sunday," he said.

"Jesus," Abby breathed. "But you're sure that Gibbs said that Tony is doing better?"

"Yes," Tim nodded. "I just spoke to Gibbs. Tony's consciousness level is rising. He's starting to respond to stimuli."

"Oh thank God," Abby breathed.

"Gibbs wants us to come visit this evening," Tim said. "Might do you good to see him?"

"I um…I think…I…I'd rather wait…to go see him…" Abby said uncomfortably.

Tim nodded, knowing that now was not the time to push. "Abby…are you ok?" he asked instead.

"Sure Timmy I'm fine," Abby said, wiping her face with her hands and walking away. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I think you need to tell Vance that you should go home. You're exhausted," Tim said gently.

Abby shook her head. "He said I could go home when these tests finished…" she shrugged. "But I don't even know…how long that'll take," she murmured.

Tim frowned. "I'm going to make a call; I'll just step outside," he said, heading for the door. Abby nodded and Tim walked out the door. He pulled his phone out and dialed Vance.

"_This is Director Vance,"_ he answered.

Tim took a deep breath. "This uh…this is McGee sir."

"_What can I do for you, Agent McGee?"_ Leon asked coolly.

"I'm here in Abby's lab. Gibbs sent me to give her an update on Tony and…she's not well, sir. She needs to go home."

Vance was quiet for a moment. _"I've already told her that she can go home when her tests are finished."_

"She can't even figure out when that will be, Director. She wasn't even sure what day it is. And with all due respect, sir, her tests are never finished—especially when she's in the only functional forensics lab in the Yard. Abby's in no shape to be working, sir."

"_I'll be right there,"_ Vance said. _"I'd like to talk to Abby before I make any decisions. __I'm not sure I trust you yet,"_ he said candidly.

"Yessir, I understand," Tim said. He hung up the phone and went back into the lab.

Abby was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall and her knees drawn up. Her head rested on her crossed arms on her knees and it was obvious she was sound asleep. Tim checked her machines, but the only one he could find a timer on said it had four hours remaining. That was unacceptable to Tim.

The door opened behind him and Director Vance walked in. His eyes widened when he saw the scene in front of him.

"She only fell asleep while we were on the phone," Tim said, positioning himself protectively between Abby and the Director. "She's exhausted."

"How much longer does this batch of tests have?"

"The only timer I can find says four hours. I don't know about the others," Tim said.

Vance pursed his lips, not knowing what to do. But it was obvious that Abby needed the rest. The tests could wait a bit. "Take her home, McGee," Vance ordered. "Stay with her and make sure she's ok. And both of you get your asses back here as soon as you can. These tests can wait for a bit." Frankly, Vance didn't want to run the risk of having his wife tear another strip off of him.

McGee nodded. "I will sir. Thank you sir." Vance nodded. "Oh and Director?"

"Yes Tim?"

Tim swallowed hard, knowing once he spoke, things would be forever changed. "You should go talk to Ziva, sir."

Vance's eyes narrowed slightly and he nodded. "Thank you Agent," he opened the door to the lab. "That'll be all."

Tim nodded and once the door closed behind the director, he let out a long breath. He turned his attention to Abby, wanting to get both of them off the Yard before the shit hit the fan.

Vance was not going to be happy after he heard what Ziva had to say.

xxx

Abby blinked her eyes open slowly and looked around, trying to place where she was. Then it dawned on her. She was in Tim's bedroom. But how'd she get here? She thought hard, vague memories of a car ride, Tim carrying her, and then sleep. Blissful. Comfortable. Safe. Uninterrupted sleep. She sat up slowly, realizing she was alone in Tim's bed. Her clothes were rumpled from sleeping in them. Tim had taken off her shoes and her collar, but he'd left everything else on.

She wondered what time it was.

Easing to her socked feet, she padded down the hall. Tim was on the couch wearing plaid pajama pants, a white t-shirt that fit him just right, and white socks. He was sound asleep too, and looking mighty fine in Abby's opinion.

Abby glanced at the clock. Nearly six. She remembered being in her lab around lunchtime. No wonder she was still exhausted. She hadn't slept very long.

"Tim," she said. "Timmy?" she shook his shoulder.

"Hmmmm," Tim hummed and his head rolled on the pillow.

"Wake up a minute, Tim," Abby said.

Tim stirred and blinked his eyes open. "Hey," he smiled. "You ok?"

"I'm fine," Abby nodded. "Why are we here?"

"I don't have a key to your place anymore," Tim said quietly. "I gave it back to you once we broke up. But I didn't think you'd mind coming here. And…I mean…nothing…happened."

Abby smiled. "Thanks Timmy," she said. "Are you going to go see Tony?"

Tim shook his head. "I don't think I have time to make it there before the visiting hour is up," he said, glancing at the clock. "I'll let Gibbs know that I'll be there tomorrow."

Abby nodded and then yawned. Tim smiled again. "You should go get more sleep," he said. "Vance said we don't have to be back until tomorrow."

Abby looked at him for a long minute. Then—much to his surprise—she reached out and took his hand. "You should come with me," she said silkily, her eyes dark with…was that desire? "I don't wanna be alone."

Tim got up and followed Abby as though ensnared by a Siren's song. His Abby was calling to him—again, after all of these years! How could he possibly say no?

xxx

Gibbs was a little surprised when McGee and Ziva didn't show up for the visiting hour. After talking to Tim, he'd been sure his two wayward agents would come—if nothing else just to suck up a little bit.

Tony had improved more during the day. He was moving around a bit more, making a few more sounds, and his eyelids had even fluttered once. Gibbs had not moved from Tony's side since that moment. He wanted to make sure he was the first person Tony saw when he finally woke up.

Ducky had come to visit. Gibbs thought he looked much better, and was glad for that. The old ME seemed ageless—Gibbs couldn't imagine life without his dear friend. While Ducky was checking Tony over, Gibbs' phone rang. A glance at it told him it was Director Vance calling. He pulled the phone off of his belt, fully intending to quit his job if Vance asked him to leave the hospital.

"Yeah, Gibbs," he answered.

"Gibbs, it's Leon. I have some news you need to know."

"I'm not coming to the Yard," Gibbs growled. "Tony's starting to wake up and I'm not leaving him."

"I'm not asking you to come in," Vance said, knowing he deserved everything Gibbs threw at him. "But I wanted to keep you up to date on what's happening so there are no surprises."

"Go on," Gibbs said. Ducky looked at him curiously and Gibbs shook his head. Ducky returned his attention to Tony.

"I met this afternoon with Ziva David," Vance reported. "She told me that she's been offered a Team Lead position with the Mossad. She is boarding a plane to Tel Aviv as we speak."

Gibbs barked out a laugh. Tony rolled his head towards him at the sound and Gibbs quieted down. "Are you serious?" he asked.

"Oh I'm extremely serious," Vance said. "I have a letter here from Ziva, along with her badge and her gun. She's resigned Gibbs. Effective this afternoon."

"What the hell Leon? This is coming out of nowhere!" All of Gibbs' humor was gone. He couldn't believe Ziva was just going to leave.

"I know," Vance said. "She said Mossad has made this offer to her several times and she has always turned it down. This time, however, she felt as though she should take the position."

"She's pissed off at me," Gibbs said. "She told me the other day that she felt like a grounded teenager."

"That may be true," Vance said, "But you know I backed you on the decision you made. After the week we've all had, they're lucky to still have jobs."

"Speaking of McGee, is he still at the Yard? He said he was going to come see Tony, but the visiting hour is nearly up and I haven't seen or heard from him."

"I know he was taking Abby home. Poor thing was asleep on the floor in her lab. I haven't heard from him since then. I told him to stay with her though, so he's likely asleep too. No one's gotten any rest this week."

"I'll give him a call," Gibbs said.

"How's Tony doing Jethro?" Vance's tone softened.

"He's doing better. They think he'll wake up soon. Maybe today. We'll know more then."

"Keep me posted."

"Jackie still mad at you?" Gibbs smirked at the memory of Jackie giving Leon a dressing down in the parking lot.

"According to her, each day I kept you and Tony apart has earned me one week of sleeping on the couch."

"How long—"

"Three days. So I earned myself three weeks on the couch."

Gibbs winced in sympathy. "Ouch." He appreciated Jackie looking out for him and Tony, though.

"That's what my back is saying already," Vance admitted.

"Can't say I feel too sorry for you," Gibbs said.

"I deserve what I'm getting," Vance said. "Goodbye Gibbs." He hung up in Gibbs's ear.

Gibbs squeezed his phone for a moment, staring at it with a deep frown on his features.

"What is it Jethro?" Ducky asked.

Gibbs ran a hand over his mouth. "It's Ziva," he said. "She's uh…she's resigned. She's going back to Mossad. Tonight apparently."

"You should speak with her!"

"Can't right now. She's on a plane."

Gibbs smiled at Tony and brushed the backs of his fingers over Tony's cheek. The touch caused the muscles in Tony's face to draw back in a weak half smile. Gibbs smiled sadly at him. God he missed him! If only he would open his eyes…

"I should call McGee," Gibbs murmured.

He leaned down and kissed the younger man's dry lips. Tony's mouth twitched slightly under his and Gibbs rested his forehead against Tony's. "Don't wake up without me. I'll only be a minute." He looked at Ducky. "Duck can you stay with him for a minute?"

Ducky nodded. "Of course Jethro. It's my pleasure to keep Anthony company."

Jethro nodded and after brushing his hand one last time over Tony's hair, he stepped out. Ducky stood up out of his wheelchair—only being used because the hospital was so large and Ducky still tired easily—and he leaned over the bed. "My dear boy," Ducky spoke softly. "I do wish you'd open your eyes. We all miss you terribly. Come back to us, son. Open your eyes and come back. Whatever it is that is keeping you away—we will fix it together. We'll make it right."

xxx

Tim was lying flat on his back, breathing hard, trying to figure out what deity he needed to say thank you to for this wild, passionate, love-making that he'd just experienced. It was glorious! Abby was such a wild and playful lover…God Tim felt like he hadn't had a cathartic release like that since…well since the last time he and Abby had made love. He glanced over at her, sound asleep now with her head on his shoulder, and a satisfied smile on her face and he could not stop the smile that tugged at his own features.

It was at that moment—that perfect, savory moment—when his cell phone rang.

Tim sighed out a long breath and picked up his phone, taking care not to wake Abby. His eyes widened when he saw who was calling.

"H-Hi Boss," Tim answered.

"Everything ok?" Gibbs asked without preamble.

"Ye-uh-yeah! Gibbs! Everything is…just um…just great!" Tim ran his fingers through Abby's hair. His movement drew a purr of pleasure out of her and he froze, hoping Gibbs hadn't heard her.

He'd be SO fired if, after everything else this week, Gibbs caught him breaking rule number twelve.

"You didn't show at visiting hour."

"I'm with Abby," Tim said. "She uh…she asked me to stay. So did Vance."

There was a pause, and Tim braced himself. "Is she ok?" Gibbs finally asked, much to Tim's surprise.

"Yeah…she was just exhausted and upset. She didn't want to be alone. So we're at my place. She's resting now." Tim winced at his own words. He was so busted.

"Good man," Gibbs praised. "I just spoke with Vance. Have you heard about Ziva?"

"Yes Boss. I'm the one who sent Vance to talk to her. She's…we're better off…with her gone," Tim said hesitantly.

"I'd still like to talk to her," Gibbs said. "But I'm not going to bed her to come back. She made her bed."

"Yeah," Tim agreed. "She did. I think she's only leaving because she wants to prove a point. I think she'll be back."

"Oh I don't think she'll be back. That's not to say she won't try." Tim's eyes widened at the implication. "Call me tomorrow. Or come by during visiting hours."

"I will Boss. Thank you Boss. Uh…Boss?"

"Yeah Tim?"

"How's Tony?"

"He's ok. Peaceful. Resting. Waking up slowly just like the doctors predicted."

"Good. Good, that's…that's real good Boss."

"Yeah. It is. Goodnight Tim."

"Night Boss." Tim ended the call and looked at the call timer. Over two minutes. Tim wasn't sure he'd ever had an actual conversation with Gibbs that lasted that long before.

Maybe this explosion really had changed everything.

With that thought in his head bringing a smile to his face, Tim hugged Abby close and drifted off to sleep once again.

xxx

Gibbs reentered Tony's cubicle and stopped short. Ducky was leaning over the bed, speaking urgently to Tony in a hushed and gentle tone.

"Duck? Tony ok?"

"Call the nurse Jethro. Anthony is trying to open his eyes."

Jethro's eyes widened and he hurried to Tony's side. He hit the call button and leaned over. Sure enough, Tony's eyelids were fluttering. The strain of the movement was visible in the muscles around his eyes.

Amelia poked her head in. "Gibbs? Tony ok?"

"He's trying to open his eyes," Gibbs said, without taking his eyes off of Tony's face. "Before it was just a little flutter once or twice, but this…this is—"

He broke off suddenly, his face splitting into a brilliant smile. "Heeeey Sweetheart," Gibbs said with barely contained glee. He gently threaded his fingers through Tony's short hair and kissed his forehead. He stopped, however, and drew back when he felt Tony tense beneath his gentle ministrations. He gazed into Tony's eyes—his brilliant jade green eyes that were looking around and filled with terror. "Tony?" he called, "Babe you with me?"

Tony seemed to shrink back a bit when Jethro spoke. His breathing quickened and he shook his head as though trying to ward off some sort of attack that he was paralyzed to stop.

"Well hello there Tony," Amelia said gently, easing up next to the bed. "It's nice to finally meet you. You're in the hospital, Sweetie. I'm your nurse, ok? My name is Amelia." The pretty young nurse squeezed Tony's hand gently as she spoke, her touch soothing and neutral.

Tony didn't speak. Amelia wasn't sure if that part of his brain had awakened yet. His fear-filled gaze scanned around the room, resting on Gibbs, then Ducky, lingering on Amelia, before flitting back to Gibbs. Amelia kept up her soothing mantra of gentle reassurances, and after a few minutes, Tony's eyes slid shut again and he visibly relaxed as he drifted off to sleep.

"I'm going to go get the doctor," Amelia said. She hurried from the room, leaving the two older men standing, stunned, at her patient's bedside. She couldn't know for sure, but judging by the fear her patient displayed, something was wrong.

Amelia was willing to bet a week's paycheck that Tony didn't know who any of them were.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

_Thanks so much to my wonderful beta, who always spends so much time pouring over my stories making them pretty and shiny for you to read. Gotgoats—you rock, dude. _

**Blank Slate  
****Chapter 10****  
**

Amelia brought Dr. Granger in to Tony's cubicle a few minutes later. "Ok let's see what we have," he said, moving in close to Tony's bedside.

"He woke up a few minute ago—opened his eyes and looked around. Something's wrong though. He was terrified. You could see it in his eyes," Gibbs reported. "I've known him for a long time and I don't recall ever seeing fear like that on his face."

"His entire body was tense also," Ducky chimed in. "He looked as though he felt like he would be attacked."

"I'm going to wake him. Just because his initial reaction was a negative one…it does not necessarily mean that something is wrong. After an injury like this one, the brain awakens slowly. That may be all that is going on."

Gibbs and Ducky both nodded and Dr. Granger leaned over Tony a bit. "Tony," he called. "Wake up Tony. Can you open your eyes for me?" It took a moment, but Tony eventually managed to drag his eyes open. He blinked heavily several times and looked around. "There you are," Dr. Granger said kindly. "How are you feeling?"

"Ha—pen—ed?" Tony forced out.

"You were in an explosion. You're in the hospital and I am your doctor. My name is Dr. Granger. Can you tell me your name?"

"Tony," Tony whispered. "W-wa-ter?"

Dr. Granger nodded to Gibbs who quickly grabbed the huge cup with the long straw off of the rollaway table. Gibbs held the straw to Tony's lips and Tony stared at him. "Here's some water Tony," Gibbs offered.

Tony eyed Gibbs warily and slowly opened his mouth to accept the straw. It took him a moment to figure out how to drink from it. Once he'd had all he wanted, Tony rolled his head away.

"Don't go back to sleep yet Tony," Dr. Granger said. "I would like to ask you some questions. Just answer them the best you can." Tony nodded slightly. "Do you know who the president is?"

Tony licked his lips and swallowed hard, staring at the ceiling. "B-Bush…" he murmured.

Dr. Granger made a note and glanced at Gibbs who looked concerned. "Good and can you tell me…do you have a job?"

"Mmmhmmm," Tony said tiredly.

"Where do you work Tony? What do you do for a job?"

"'mmm a cop," he mumbled. His eyes were drooping and he looked exhausted.

"Where do you work Tony?"

"Balt'more…cop…" he yawned and his eyes dropped shut.

"One more question and then you can sleep." Tony's eyes opened to slits. "What year is it Tony?"

Tony blinked. "2002," he whispered. "Sleeeeepy…" he closed his eyes and almost instantly dropped off to sleep.

Gibbs looked at the doctor, but Dr. Granger held up his hand. "Let's go down to the conference room so he can rest. I will tell you what I'm thinking and you can ask any questions you might have."

"MIGHT!" Gibbs exclaimed.

"Amelia will you please stay with Agent DiNozzo until we return? I'll let the other nurses know to watch your zone."

"Yes Doctor. Thank you Doctor," Amelia replied.

Dr. Granger smiled and led the way out of the cubicle. A few moments later, after stopping long enough to get coverage for Amelia's zone, he led the two men into the conference room.

"What the hell is wrong with Tony?!" Gibbs sounded almost hysterical, bursting out his question even before the door was closed.

"Easy Jethro," Ducky said soothingly. "Go on Doctor."

"Well I don't think I need to explain that Tony is experiencing some confusion."

"I noticed," Gibbs said mildly. "So how do we fix it? What does that mean?"

"It can mean several things. He could be experiencing some confusion as a result of the concussion. He may also be having the confusion because he's still coming out of the coma. Sometimes it takes a bit for the brain to wake back up fully. There is also the chance that he is experiencing some more serious memory loss—perhaps in some form of retrograde amnesia."

Gibbs leaned back in the chair and let out a long sigh. "So how do we know which it is?"

"There are several tests I am planning to perform. We'll start tonight by checking his vitals and monitoring his consciousness level as we would with any patients who have a concussion. We will wake him every two hours to make sure his consciousness is not slipping and to assure that he is not slipping into a delirium. I'd like to perform the same tests I've been doing for the past few days to mark his level on the Glasgow Coma Rating Scale, and I'm going to put in orders for Tony to have another CT and MRI to be completed first thing in the morning. We'll do that in the morning. He needs to sleep tonight as much as possible. The brain does tremendously remarkable work while the body sleeps."

"He's been out like a light for almost five days! How much sleep does he need?!"

"He's been unconscious, Agent Gibbs. Not sleeping. Not even really resting. And his body has been hard at work the entire time. I think you will find over the next couple of weeks that Tony is going to sleep quite a lot. My advice is to let him rest. If he wants to sleep, let him. Wake him for meals—nourishment is going to be important as well—but if he's tired, the best thing will be for him to sleep."

Gibbs nodded. "Ok," he said. "He's still in ICU…do you think he'll get out of here anytime soon?"

"Out of the ICU? I'm going to wait and make that decision after I see his test results tomorrow morning. He will move to a step-down unit first and then on to a regular room. Depending on how he does, and the occurrence of any setbacks, once he's in a regular room he may be released fairly quickly."

"Are you going to do any tests on his motor skills?" Ducky asked. "Vision? Hearing? Though he seems to be hearing just fine, and his speech, although a little slurred, was easily decipherable."

Dr. Granger nodded and made a note on his clipboard. "Yes. Once the CT and MRI come back I will do more physical assessments. Do you have any other questions?"

"Is he hurting?" Gibbs asked softly.

"We'll get Amelia to check his vitals and we can ask him if he's hurting. It would not be surprising for him to experience some pretty severe headaches."

Gibbs nodded. "I don't want him to hurt."

"I don't either, but I'm also hesitant to prescribe him heavy painkillers or narcotics, only because I don't want to alter his consciousness level unless it is absolutely necessary."

"Makes sense," Gibbs said. "As long as you are aware. And also…he doesn't do well on narcotics as a general rule."

"He has adverse reactions to narcotics?"

Gibbs nodded. "He's a handful."

"But outside of that, he doesn't have any physical reactions? No difficulty breathing or heart palpitations or anything like that?"

"No," Gibbs said. "Nothing like that."

"We'll give him something mild tonight to make sure he can rest, but not knock him out. If there are no other questions…"

"I need coffee," Gibbs muttered. "Duck I'll walk ya out." He looked at Dr. Granger. "Thank you Doctor," he said.

"My pleasure. I'm glad he's improving. It's nice to see him awake."

"Yes it is," Gibbs agreed.

xxx

When Gibbs returned to the ICU a few minutes later, there was quite a bit of noise coming from Tony's cubicle. He hurried to the room and stopped short when he saw Amelia and Dr. Granger both struggling to keep Tony in the bed. Tony's movements looked clumsy and sluggish, but it was obvious that he had no desire to stay in the bed and that he was working hard to make his escape.

"Mr. DiNozzo! You've got to stay in bed! You're not ready to be up yet! You've got to stay in bed!" Amelia was struggling to push him back, but Tony was stronger.

"Tony! Stand down!" Gibbs called over the ruckus in the room. Tony froze at Gibbs' sharp words and turned fear-filled eyes to the man standing in the door.

The doctor and the nurse started to move towards Tony, but he struck out again as they approached. "NO!" He cried. "NO STOP! NO DRUGS! NO DRUGS!" His hands clutched at his temples, and he bent forward in the bed.

"Give him a minute?" Gibbs requested, stepping forward. Dr. Granger looked perplexed, but at Gibbs' steady gaze he nodded. "Alright," he relented. "C'mon Amelia. Let's give Tony a moment."

The medical professionals quickly left the cubicle and Gibbs moved in closer to Tony's bed. "Easy Tony," he said soothingly. Tony was still rocking forward in bed, his hands clutching at his head, moaning pitifully. "They're gone," Gibbs said. "No one's giving you anything you don't want yet."

Tony's gasps slowly began to slow and he eventually looked up. Gibbs cocked his head to one side and looked at him carefully. "With me?" he asked.

Tony stared at him for a long moment before nodding slowly. "Y-yeah," Tony panted. He looked horribly tired, and Gibbs wondered how long he'd stay awake. "Yeah I'm with you," he said. He looked up at Gibbs.

Gibbs nodded and indicated the bed. "Can I sit? So we can talk?" He wanted nothing more than to pull Tony into his arms and promise that everything was going to be fine, but he knew that wouldn't help anything here. If Tony thought it was 2002 then Gibbs wasn't sure Tony knew who he was.

Tony shrugged and Gibbs moved slowly to sit on the bed facing him. "Hey," Gibbs said softly, offering a gentle half smile. He loved this man so much. It troubled him to see Tony so frightened. "I'm wondering something."

"What?" Tony asked raggedly. He felt so wrung out. So exhausted. His head was splitting, but he didn't dare take any drugs. He knew what painkillers did to him—he couldn't afford to be left so vulnerable right now. He didn't know anyone here. Christ what the hell was going on? What happened to him? Who was this man in front of him and why was he being nice and what was HE wondering?

"I'm sure your head is hurting," Gibbs spoke gently. "I don't understand why you don't want any painkillers, Tony?"

Tony shook his head. "I can't take 'em," he swallowed hard. "I can't—they make me—" he shuddered. "I can't…can't watch out for myself…if I have painkillers," he finally whispered.

"Is your head hurting?" Gibbs asked, dropping the volume of his voice considerably.

"Yeah," Tony whimpered, raising a hand back to his temple. "Hurts so bad," he murmured. "So tired."

God he was falling apart right before Gibbs' eyes. It was devastating to watch. "Tony…I want you to understand something." He waited until Tony's unsteady gaze slowly rose to look at him. "You're safe with me," he said firmly, keeping the gentleness in his tone.

Tony shook his head. "How can you say that?" he breathed. "I don't understand…I don't…I don't even know you!" he wailed. His hand rose to his temple again and he closed his eyes for a long moment.

Gibbs smiled. "I can help with that," he said easily. "Allow me to introduce myself. Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, NCIS."

"And I know you?" Tony asked uncertainly.

"Yes," Gibbs said. "We are partners at work. You…you work at NCIS with me. You're part of my team."

Tony shook his head. "S-stop," he said, his eyes dropping shut again.

"You ok Tony?" Gibbs asked.

Tony shook his head. "D-Doctor said…don't want to have people tell me memories. S'posed to…remember 'em…"

Gibbs nodded. "Ah. Yes. I remember that."

"You…what?" Tony asked. He looked up, confusion marring his features.

"I know what you're going through," Gibbs said.

"You do?" Tony asked.

Gibbs smiled sadly. "Yeah," he said. "I um…I've been in a similar situation to the one you're in."

"Really?" Tony asked.

"Yeah," Gibbs nodded.

Tony ran a hand over his face, wiping away some errant moisture that was wetting his eyes suspiciously, and looked at Gibbs with interest. "What uh…what happened?"

"I was working a case. I was on a ship with a terrorist, and the ship exploded. I was in a coma for several days…finally woke up, but I couldn't remember anything from the past twenty years."

"I can't remember…what year did you say this is?"

"I haven't said," Gibbs said quietly. "It's 2012."

"Right…and I am stuck in 2002…so I've lost ten years," Tony seemed to almost be speaking to himself. He raised his hand to his temple again and blinked heavily. God his head hurt.

"Tony—"

"I have to ask you something else," Tony blurted. He looked up at Gibbs. "This whole, memory loss thing…can you fix it? How do I fix it? Because…Because I've gotta get back to work."

Gibbs pursed his lips, feeling perplexed. He recalled this frustration. This desire to reach out and grasp at thoughts and memories that were just beyond your reach. This need to grasp onto a reality that no longer existed. It was maddening.

"Special Agent Gibbs," Tony repeated. "Can you fix it? Did you fix yours?"

"Just call me Gibbs, Tony," Gibbs said with a smile. Then it quickly faded. "There's…if you're looking for a cure…like a pill or something…there's not one. But…I got most of my memories back. Over time."

"Over time." Tony swallowed hard.

"Yeah," Gibbs said quietly.

Tony was quiet for a long moment, then he was suddenly trying to get out of bed again. "I gotta go," he mumbled, shoving his way to his feet, even before Gibbs could stop him. His knees buckled almost immediately though, and Gibbs dove to catch him before he landed on the floor.

"Easy!" Gibbs exclaimed. "Where ya going?"

"I gotta get outta here," Tony said. "Gotta go…" He clutched his head and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Get back in bed, Tony," Gibbs instructed gently.

"I need help…gotta go…needa…figure…out…"

Gibbs gently manhandled Tony back into the bed. "Take it easy," he said. "I'd feel better if you had something for your headache."

"No," Tony shook his head slowly. "No I can't…drugs…they make me act funny…I can't…I have to watch my back," Tony said pitifully. "I don't…no one else will do it…I have no one…and I don't even know where we are! Where the hell am I?"

Gibbs kept his hands on Tony's shoulders. "Ok, ok, easy," he coached. "Tony you're safe with me. I've got your six, ok?"

"How can I trust you? I don't even know you!" Tony moaned.

Gibbs thought for a moment, looking around the room, wondering how to convince him. "Tony…I'm listed as your next of kin," he said.

Tony blinked and stared up at him. "What? But…no…no that's impossible," Tony stammered. "D-Danny's my next of kin. Danny…I need to call Danny…"

"I can show you the forms Tony," Gibbs said. "Stay right there ok?" he pointed at the bed. Tony nodded. Gibbs turned around and found his briefcase. He'd brought it with him when he'd left NCIS and he knew it had their powers of attorney in them—he'd made sure to grab copies before coming back to the hospital. He quickly opened his pack and found the folder with their forms in it. He handed Tony his Next of Kin and Medical Power of Attorney forms. Tony took them and stared at them intently.

"You listed me as your next of kin the day you started at NCIS," Gibbs said softly. He recalled the day well, but shoved the memory from his mind. Now wasn't the time for that. "You trusted me then Tony," Gibbs urged. "You signed the form. Look at the date."

Tony stared at the date Gibbs pointed out. 2002. Right next to his signature. Holy shit. He blinked and looked up at Gibbs. "I trusted you," he breathed.

"That's right Tony."

"I don't even know you," Tony whispered. Tears filled his eyes and he looked around. He felt a bit like he was going to fly apart. He didn't know what to do. Could he trust this man?

"I know," Gibbs said. "And I know how difficult it is to know who to believe and who to trust."

"But you're asking me to do it," Tony spat, with an ill look on his face. The tears spilled over and he scrubbed them away.

Gibbs nodded. "I am. And I can promise you that I won't let you down. I have your six."

"You being my next of kin…what's that mean? Other than the obvious?" Tony asked. He put his head in his hands.

"It means that I have the authority to make medical decisions for you if you aren't able to do it for yourself. And I'll tell you something else too."

"What?"

"You're also my next of kin," Gibbs said, bumping their shoulders together. He offered a small smile when Tony looked up at him.

"I am?"

"Yep. I trust you more than anyone else that I know."

"Wow," Tony murmured. "Gibbs?"

"Yeah Tony?"

"I'm…I'm scared."

"I know," Gibbs patted him on the shoulder, fighting the urge to draw him close, once again. "I know."

"This…it's is a lot to take in," Tony continued. "I just…I really just wanna…wanna sleep…"

Gibbs eyed him with gentle concern. "Why don't you get some rest? I'm not leaving. I'm staying with you. Once you're released from the hospital, I'll take you home." Gibbs didn't tell him that Tony only kept the apartment for appearances now…and that he spent nearly every night at Gibbs' house. He figured they'd talk about that later…and with any luck, Tony would remember that on his own.

"I…Gibbs, I…"

"Tony…will you let me help you make some decisions? Take some of the pressure off?" Gibbs asked.

"Like what?" He blinked his eyes shut and seemed to have to struggle to reopen them.

"Let me talk to the doctor about giving you something for the headache. I don't think you need knocking out, but—"

"Oh I think knocking out wouldn't be so bad," Tony mumbled, rubbing his forehead.

Gibbs cupped Tony's face and looked him in the eye. "Do you trust me?"

"I…I have to," Tony whispered, grabbing Gibbs' wrists and holding onto them a bit desperately. "You're…you're the only friend I've got…and I don't even know you, but…but something…my body…it just…I'm comfortable with you," he said. "I have to listen to that. I trust you, Gibbs," Tony looked at Gibbs through glassy eyes. "Will…will you help me?"

Gibbs embraced Tony, pulling him close. Tony tensed for a moment but then he melted against Gibbs. This all felt so right. It felt safe. Comfortable. Two tears rolled out of Tony's eyes and he sniffled, fighting them back. Gibbs squeezed him tighter and then released and helped him lay back down. "I'm gonna go get the doctor," he said. "I'm going to ask him to get you something for the pain so you can get some rest."

Tony reached out a hand towards Gibbs as he moved away. "Gibbs," he called. He blinked heavily again. God he was exhausted.

"Yeah?"

"Will you stay?" Tony whispered.

Gibbs turned around and headed right back to Tony's side. He took up his seat on the bed again and looked at Tony carefully. "I'll just hit the button," he said, doing exactly that.

Amelia poked her head in. "Everything ok?"

"He's ready for some pain meds, please," Gibbs said.

Amelia nodded. "Dr. Granger already put the order in, and I've got it all ready to go. Let me just go get it." She disappeared.

Tony looked at Gibbs for a long moment, shame filling his features. "The painkillers…they make me…I go kinda nuts…" Tony said uncomfortably.

"I know Tony," Gibbs said in a soothing tone. "I've got your six. I told you. It's going to be alright. You're safe with me."

Amelia came back in and quickly administered the dose of the fast acting painkiller. Tony almost immediately slumped a bit, the gentle tug of the medication, combined with his exhaustion, already pulling him toward a peaceful sleep. A slow smile dragged across his face as he stared up at Gibbs. His eyes slid down to his hand that was being held gently by Gibbs. "You really mean it," Tony said tiredly.

Gibbs smiled. "Yeah Tony," he nodded and squeezed Tony's hand. "I really mean it."

"Hey G-Gibbs?" Tony blinked slowly.

"Yeah?"

"'m…I'm gonna…sleep now," Tony mumbled. His fingers twitched in Gibbs' and his head slowly rolled to the side. His eyes slipped closed and he drifted away peacefully.

"Got your six," Gibbs murmured. "I've got you. You're safe. I'll be right here when you wake up." He leaned over and kissed Tony's temple lightly. "I love you Sweetheart."

TBC…


	11. Chapter 11

_Thanks to Gotgoats for all your help! You're an awesome beta!_

**Blank Slate  
****Chapter 11**

Ziva stepped off the plane in Tel Aviv and took a deep breath. She couldn't believe she'd actually done it. She'd turned her back on the best life—the best family—she'd ever experienced. And why? Because she was angry with Gibbs? One thing was certain. Fourteen hours on a plane, spent travelling halfway around the world had given her a huge amount of time to think. She wasn't at all sure that she'd made the right decision by coming here. She'd been upset and frustrated and that email had arrived in her inbox at a weak moment. She replied to it on a whim, without really giving it too much thought.

A man stepped up to her in the terminal suddenly, his eyes shielded by impenetrable mirrored shades. "Agent David," he spoke in a low, heavily accented voice. "Your father sent me to fetch you from the airport. Do you have all of your belongings?"

"I have one bag to collect," Ziva said, heading for the baggage claim area.

xxx

Twenty minutes later, Ziva and her companion, she'd learned his name was Edan, climbed out of the rented car at Mossad Headquarters. They passed through security and Edan escorted her swiftly to the Director's Office. He knocked twice—two firm, short raps—and stepped back. A moment later the door opened, and another man stuck his head out. "Ziva David?" he asked.

Ziva nodded. "Yes. That is me," she answered in flawless Hebrew.

"Your father is expecting you," the other agent pulled the door open farther and beckoned Ziva inside.

Eli David sat at his desk, his regal aura sitting heavily in the dramatically adorned office. "Ziva," he spoke softly.

"Hello Papa," Ziva murmured.

"I see you have decided to accept my offer to return to your roots here at Mossad," Eli said.

"I was happy to receive your message. Thank you for asking me back."

"I am hoping to be able to offer you a team of your own."

"I thought you already had a team for me?" Ziva asked. "I have many skills from the Mossad and now I have honed my skills even more with my time at NCIS."

"That is a matter of opinion," Eli said snidely. It was really no secret that Eli had no love lost for NCIS and the American Agents who'd given him so much trouble.

Ziva decided to remain quiet. She had no response for that. There was really not a response that was appropriate.

"Before I turn you loose with your own team, Daughter, I have an individual task for you. You need to prove your loyalty to the Mossad."

Ziva eyed her father carefully. "And how would you have me prove myself?"

xxx

Gibbs was dozing in the chair, hand still holding onto Tony's when he heard a noise behind him. He sat up straight and whipped around.

"Sorry Boss," McGee said quietly. "Didn't mean to wake you."

Gibbs stood up and checked on Tony. "It's alright," he murmured distractedly. Tony was still sleeping, thanks to the painkiller he'd been given earlier. The night nurse had checked Tony carefully, waking him every two hours and measuring his coherency. The young man's sleep hadn't been entirely restful. Tony'd been plagued most of the night by troubling dreams—disturbing images that hadn't made a lot of sense to Tony, and he'd been too groggy to really explain it to Gibbs. Gibbs was hoping it was Tony's memories disrupting his sleep, though he knew from experience that memories often returned fragmented, like confetti falling down around you on New Year's Eve, but leaving holes in your mind like a child's puzzle with missing pieces. It was absolutely maddening—often producing the sensation of losing your train on thought—trailing off midsentence because you had no idea what you were going to say.

"I brought coffee Boss," McGee handed Gibbs the cup. He looked at his friend. "How's Tony?"

"He woke up last night," Gibbs said.

"That's—Boss that's good!" Tim exclaimed.

"Yeah," Gibbs nodded and took a sip of coffee. "He's uh…he's having some trouble with his memory though."

Tim froze. "How much trouble?"

Gibbs took another long pull off of the coffee cup. "About ten years of loss," he said quietly, staring at the blanket covering Tony's legs.

"T-total loss?" McGee swallowed hard.

"It's looking like it," Gibbs said regretfully. "Doc's gonna do some tests this morning. When he woke up he thought it was 2002. He thought he was still a cop in Baltimore."

"Kinda like when you lost your memory?"

"A bit. He doesn't seem to have lost as many years as I did, but…I dunno, maybe it just looks worse to me because I see him through my own experience."

"That makes sense," Tim agreed.

"So Tim," Gibbs looked up at him, "tell me about Rule Number Twelve." He took a quick sip of coffee to hide his smirk at McGee's gaping expression.

"What?! Boss?!"

Gibbs leveled a stare at McGee. "Don't lie to me Elf Lord," he took another sip of coffee.

"We uh…um…"

"Whose idea was it? Yours? Abby's?"

"It um…uh…well I think Abby said it out loud first, but…well I was thinking it…"

"So it was a mutual decision?"

"It…uh…well…um…" Tim looked up at Gibbs, frustrated. He was saved from responding by a soft moan from the bed that stole Gibbs' attention from Tim.

Tony was rolling his head back and forth on the pillow again, brow furrowed into a deep frown and looking like he was terribly frightened. Gibbs stepped right up to Tony's bed and put his hand flat on Tony's forehead. "Easy Tony," he said quietly, his touch firm but soothing. "Just relax. Just rest."

Gibbs let out a soft sigh when Tony's eyes suddenly shot open and he forced himself halfway upright, propping on his elbows. He looked confused and in pain and blinked blearily through foggy eyes trying to get his gaze to focus on something—anything. His eyes widened in fear when he saw another stranger in his room. He didn't know who the young man was—he looked younger than Tony was…

Tim watched as Gibbs moved smoothly to the rollaway cart and picked up the cup of water. He held the straw towards Tony and the other man looked at it for a long moment, as if he was trying to figure out what to do with it, before he finally leaned forward and took a sip of the water. Tim watched in awe as Gibbs nodded, silently praising Tony for figuring it out. There was something about Tony…he seemed…vulnerable…innocent somehow…it was obvious he was still Tony, but…a much younger, much…less…experienced? He looked at peace? Maybe? Tim wasn't sure what to make of it. Tony seemed as though the world hadn't laid heavily on him—even though Tim knew the past almost decade had been a long road of ups and downs for his friend. Seeing Tony like this…Tim suddenly felt waves of guilt wash over him. He and Ziva had treated Tony so badly…they'd contributed to taking this look away from Tony…and he suddenly wanted to make it better.

"Hey Tony," Tim said with a smile.

Tony's eyes dragged up to Tim and confusion filled his face. "Hello," he said uncertainly. He looked up at Gibbs, hoping for some clarity. "Gibbs?" he murmured. "I know he knows me, but…do I know who he is?"

Gibbs smiled sympathetically. "You do know him. Would you like him to introduce himself?"

Tony thought about it for a several minutes. "Ok," he finally said. He looked at Tim. "I'm sorry, but…I don't remember who you are," he said quietly.

Tim took a deep breath and a step forward. This could be the opportunity he needed to make things right. He could have a chance at a new start with his friend…one without Ziva's influence. "My name is Tim," he said, raising his hand to shake it with Tony. "Tim McGee. I'm on the team with you and Gibbs at NCIS."

"NCIS…that's where you said I work, right?" Tony looked at Gibbs.

Gibbs nodded. "That's right Tony. That's good work."

Tony looked at Tim. "Are we friends?"

Tim swallowed hard and glanced at Gibbs. Gibbs nodded imperceptibly and Tim took a deep breath, hoping he was interpreting it right. "Yes," he said slowly with a confounded expression.

Tony looked at him curiously. "Why do you have that look on your face?" he asked bluntly, his voice still quiet.

"What look?" Tim asked, trying to force the squeak out of his voice.

"You look…I dunno…like you aren't sure you believe what you're saying…or something…maybe I'm wrong," Tony said uncertainly.

Tim glanced at Gibbs again. Gibbs looked like he wasn't sure what Tim was talking about, so Tim decided to be vague. "I um…I believe what I'm saying Tony, but…things between us have been a little hard…and I've made some mistakes."

To McGee's horror, Tony began to look even more confused. "I don't…I'm sorry, I can't remember," he murmured, sounding slightly desperate. "I um…I need some…uh…can you…can you go now? I'm sorry," Tony's voice dropped to a whisper.

Tim looked to Gibbs for direction, and Gibbs nodded his head in the direction of the curtain. "Thanks for stopping by Tim," he said in a low voice. "I'll call you later."

"I hope you feel better, Tony," McGee murmured. "See you later." He left without any hesitation, feeling bad the whole way to the car that he could leave and return to his normal life, while Tony was stuck in this…personal hell… He wondered what he'd do if he were in the same situation.

Back in the hospital room, Tony looked around uncertainly. "God," he breathed shakily. "This is all…it's so…Gibbs I don't know how to do this," he murmured.

"Just take it one minute at a time. It'll be alright. I'll help you."

Tony shook his head. "I don't think it ever will be. I kept hoping…last night I was hoping I'd just go to sleep and wake up and remember all of this stuff—this ten years that I don't know anything about—but now…it's hopeless," he said despondently. "I don't know what to do."

The rest of the morning was a flurry of activity, moving him around for tests and scans and by lunchtime Tony was in a foul mood. He felt like hell, his head felt like it had Two-Ton-Tilly doing the Foxtrot in his head and more than anything he just wanted a few moment's peace and quiet so he could drift away and not have to think for a bit. Gibbs remained by his side as much as he was allowed to, but there were great expanses of time where the older man was relegated to an observation window or to a waiting room and Tony was forced to face things alone.

It was frightening for Tony to know that he'd lost so much of his memory—for whatever reason. To him, it really didn't matter WHY—to him it mattered more of WHAT he'd lost. Who were these people who kept stopping by? This Tim? Gibbs? Who were these people? He didn't know them. He didn't know anything about them. He didn't like that they knew who he was. Could he trust them? Could he believe the older guy when he said that he'd keep Tony safe? What did he need to be kept safe from? Part of Tony thought that he'd be better off to strike out on his own. He'd been on his own since…well, forever, and he was a master at taking care of himself. Right now he needed to figure out how to get himself out of the hospital, he needed to figure out why he was in Washington DC, why GIBBS was with him and not Danny…he had too many questions and not nearly enough answers.

He let the doctors poke and prod at him until they were finished with their tests and the information was conclusively drawn that he was experiencing some phenomena called Dissociative Retrograde Amnesia. It wasn't affecting every portion of his brain, and it wasn't affecting every aspect of his life, but his memory was severely impaired and there was no guarantee that he'd ever be able to fix that.

And what else was he missing? This guy, Gibbs, he seemed to be working hard to keep Tony relatively sheltered. What the hell was up with that? Did he know these people really? Or had…had they done something to him? Were they the ones who'd hurt him? Tony closed his eyes against the sickening movement as the medical professionals zipped him off to some other undisclosed location. What were they going to do to him now? Where were they taking him? Where was Gibbs?

"Where…where're we going?" Tony mumbled, lifting a hand and dropping it weakly over his stomach. He felt incredibly nauseous. "Can you…will you slow down? Please…gonna be sick…"

The people pushing his bed around hardly acknowledged him. One of them—a pretty lady—smiled down at him. "Oh you just sit tight Sweetie," she cooed. "You're going to be just fine!"

Tony reached up and grabbed the bedrail, slowly pulling himself up to a seated position. Well that got everyone's attention and brought his bed to a grinding halt. A flurry of hands moved around him and over him, touching him, and soothing him, and guiding him to lie back on the bed. Tony shook his head and brushed their hands off, his annoyance growing by the minute. "Can't keep me…not like this…lemme go," he grumbled. When the hands didn't stop touching him he raised his hands to his face and covered his eyes. "STOP TOUCHING ME DAMMIT!" he roared.

"Let him have a minute," a familiar voice said. He recognized the voice. It was the voice of someone he knew, but he couldn't place who it was. Glancing around through the crowd of medical professionals, he looked for the person who was speaking. It was a young man with round glasses and a mop of curly hair on his head. He was standing near Gibbs—there he was—and they both looked pretty pissed—though Tony was unsure if they were pissed at him or at the doctors and nurses. Tony stared at the other man—not much younger than himself—and tried to figure out where he knew him from. His voice was familiar, his body recognized this man like it recognized Gibbs, but…who was he?

The familiar looking man stepped forward once everyone backed off and he put his hands on the bedrail. Tony hoped more than anything that he'd let the bedrail down. He had to get out of here. He was sitting up on the bed, legs splayed out before him, only covered by a thin sheet. He knew that if he got up his ass would be hanging out, and a glance around, told him that no one would help him if he wanted to leave. He hoped that was because they wanted him to make sure he was ok…he didn't feel ok though. He rubbed a hand over his mouth, and took a shaky breath.

"Tony?" the guy—were they friends?—spoke softly. "Ya ok bud?"

Tony's mouth felt full of spit…his stomach was roiling and he felt like someone had thrown hot water on him…

The guy next to him turned around and spoke to someone else. "Get a pan; he's gonna be sick."

Before they could even move though, Tony's body erupted, revolting violently against him and he found himself covered in the remnants of the water and applesauce he'd choked down for lunch. He gasped as his bruised ribs made themselves known—it certainly FELT like he'd been in an explosion! Perhaps Gibbs wasn't lying to him after all…

Hands gently eased him back then and they quickly moved him to his destination. The young guy who seemed to be trying to help him—he stayed right next to Tony's head and kept a hand over his eyes the whole way there. Once they got to the MRI lab, another nurse appeared—where had she come from?—and a syringe deposited something into his IV line. Oh shit they were drugging him. He'd caused too much trouble, and he'd pissed off the doctors, and now they were going to keep him—make him stay—hold him prisoner in the hospital…

"N-no…" Tony mumbled, shaking his head. He reached weakly for the IV, meaning to pull it out, but a gentle hand on his wrist stopped him. Tony followed the line of the arm up to the man who was holding him. The grip wasn't painful, it didn't hurt, but it was firm and obvious that the man meant business. Tony stared up at Gibbs. "Can't keep me here," he mumbled pitifully, his eyes blinking tiredly shut. "Can't make me stay…"

Gibbs stayed close as they made quick work of changing Tony's clothes and blankets. "It's going to be alright Tony," Gibbs told him. "I've got your six alright? Like I promised. The doctors just gave you something to help with the sick feeling. It might make you a little sleepy, but you're having an MRI so that's probably not a bad thing."

"I want…wanna go home," Tony whimpered pitifully. He was gently shoved back in the bed after they finished changing his clothes and the fresh blankets were pulled up over him. He could feel his eyes rolling around, staring at the ceiling, and the dots in the tiles began to swim and move and he closed his eyes against them. "Feel sick," he muttered, hugging his torso again. He yawned deeply. "'m tired…"

Gibbs watched as the medicine did its job, easing Tony's discomfort and helping him drift off to sleep again. He looked up at the doctors. "We aren't going to keep him sedated. If he is nauseous then he gets the meds he needs. His mind is foggy enough without drugging him to the gills just to keep him in bed."

"He needs to rest," one of the nurses told Gibbs brusquely. "He just came out of the coma."

"I'm quite aware of that," Gibbs snapped. "I'm telling you how it's going to go down. I'll stay with him, but we aren't going to make him sleep."

Palmer stepped up next to Gibbs. "Gibbs is right," he said. "Tony needs to figure things out on his own. Of course he's combative and trying to leave—he's freaking out! I think you were right to give him the medication just now because he was obviously sick. Perhaps next time we move him, we could let him lie on his side or something. His eyes were trying to track while the gurney was moving—I think he's got some motion sickness from it."

The doctors and nurses agreed and Tony was carefully lifted onto the MRI platform. They did the first stage of the MRI and Tony didn't even move a finger. He slept deeply, seeming to be resting comfortably throughout the test. They slid him out after the first stage ended and put the dye in through his IV and sent him back in for the second half of the MRI. Once it was completed, they placed Tony back into the bed to transport him back to the ICU. Gibbs took his seat beside the bed and Tony slept a good bit of the afternoon. Dr. Granger stopped by a couple of times to check on Tony and go over the MRI results with him, but he was sleeping each time he stopped by.

Just before dinner time, Jackie Vance poked her head into Tony's cubicle. "Hellooo," Jackie called softly.

Gibbs smiled. "Hey Jackie."

"Heard our boy woke up. Thought I'd see how he's doing." When Gibbs didn't smile, Jackie frowned slightly. "Gibbs? Is Tony ok?"

"He's got Dissociative Retrograde Amnesia. Can't remember the last ten years or so."

Realization dawned on Jackie's face and it dawned into an expression of alarm. "Gibbs…how long has he worked for NCIS?"

"Nine years," Gibbs said softly.

"Oh Jesus," Jackie breathed. "Does he know?"

Gibbs nodded, his lips in a firm line. "Yeah…Yeah he knows."

"How's he taking it?" She reached out and held his hand. "How are you taking it?"

"He's scared shitless. I know how scary it is…same thing happened to me." Gibbs shrugged. "I'm feeling…feeling pretty helpless. I wanna make it better, and can't. There's nothing I can do but support him and help him feel as safe as he can. But that's hard to do when he doesn't remember me."

Tony rolled his head as Gibbs spoke. He'd heard every word that the older man said, but he didn't let on. He didn't know who Gibbs was talking to. And what was it about Gibbs that he was supposed to remember? What was he forgetting? He'd been told that Gibbs was his boss at NCIS…why would there be more to the story than that? And did it have anything to do with the way his body seemed all but drawn to the older man? He didn't understand it.

Jackie smoothed Tony's blanket gently, and rubbed her hand over Tony's arm. She felt the minute flinch when she touched him, and knew then that he wasn't sleeping. He was hiding. It was obvious to Jackie's maternal instinct that Tony'd had enough for one day. He was trying to tune out the world and just drift for a bit. That was fine. She wouldn't push. Once Tony's blankets were smoothed, Jackie turned to Gibbs. "Honey why don't you go get yourself some real food for dinner and take a shower and get some coffee? I'll sit with him."

"He…I promised him he'd be safe…promised him that I had his six," Gibbs said helplessly.

"You do have his six. But in order to do that you've got to take care of yourself too. You haven't left his side in over three days Gibbs. Take a little break. It'll be alright. He'll be fine for that long. And if he wakes up…well I'll take care of it. It'll be alright."

Gibbs ran a hand over his mouth, obviously trying to decide if he should stay or go. Finally he blew out a long breath and nodded. "Right. Right, you're right. It'll be ok. I'll be gone…less than two hours. Is that too much?"

"It's fine Gibbs. Kayla and Jared are at my mother's. And it isn't like I have no way to contact you if I need you."

"Right. Ok. Um…if he…if he's scared…nervous…whatever…tell him I'm coming right back."

"Gibbs?"

"Yeah?"

"Bring him something that's familiar. It might help."

Gibbs thought about it for a minute before he nodded and smiled. "I know just the perfect thing. I'll grab it from home while I'm there. I'll be back soon."

"See you later Gibbs. Be safe."

Gibbs nodded and left. Jackie sat down in the chair Gibbs vacated, and looked at the young man on the bed. "I know you aren't sleeping," she said gently. Tony didn't respond. "I'm not going to force you to open your eyes or talk to me. But I want you to know that you're safe with me too, Tony. My name is Jackie and we are good friends."

Tony didn't move or speak, but Jackie watched over the next few minutes as Tony seemed to relax slightly. Eventually she reached up and put her hand over Tony's. He didn't move. She wrapped her hand lightly around his and squeezed it gently. Her dear friend had managed to doze off. "Just sleep Sweetheart," Jackie murmured. "Jackie's here and I've got your six. We all care about you Tony. Even if you can't remember that yet. We all love you."

TBC…


End file.
